Midnight Fantasy
by BlizzardNova
Summary: Her eyes twinkled like an azure, frosty night sky. Her hair dazzled and flowed outwards like a waterfall, gleaming dimly in the soft hue of the moonlight. He couldn't stand idly anymore as he gazed intently at her plump, rose-colored and glossy lips. He wanted so desperately to press his own against them, and he would surely make her want him as bad as he wanted her. (MariChat)
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N): Hiya everyone! So I've decided to try my hand at writing a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction of sorts, because honestly I've been obsessed with this pairing so much that I felt compelled to at least give something to the fandom after reading sooooo many amazing fan-fictions on these two. This story could potentially get to rated M for later chapters, as when I write romance I tend to get a bit carried away and details become very... well 'detailed'. But I'm not really sure at this point, so for now it's T. Let me know what you think of the story as I continue on, and I hope I can do a decent enough job on this story!**

* * *

She stood there gazing at him from a distance, the gentle autumn breeze trickling through his illustrious blonde hair still makes it difficult for her to take her eyes off him even after all these years. Her twinkling bluebell eyes for a moment, connected with his deep, rich green orbs that every description used to describe it's perfection would be crude, at least in her eyes.

She loved him, but she was beggining to doubt that anything would suffice out of a one-sided relationship.

"Girl! Snap out of it!" A voice beckons her out of her daydream forcefully, not the first time that it has happened either.

In front of her stood none other than Alya, her best friend for two years already. Her arms were crossed and she had an almost disapproving look upon her face as she watched her best friend gaze at her crush for what seemed like the millionth time this week alone. School had ended for the day and at this time of day most of the school was able to walk freely back home, and it was also the time of day Marinette tended to daydream about Adrien even more than usual.

"Ah! Uh…Sorry I kinda of got lost in thought…again." She muttered the last part barely audible.

"Marinette…" Alya sighed looking at the girl sympathetically. "It's Adrien again, isn't it?"

Marinette shuddered at the name, her posh and milk colored skin turned momentarily rose at just the mention of his name.

"A-Adrien? Of course not! I wasn't even thinking about Adrien at all! What made you think I was thinking about Adrien?! Hahaha!" Marinette lumbered around, her azure pigtails bopping around everywhere her head frantically turned in a mess.

Alya just puffed out her cheek in annoyance at her obvious denial. She began lightly tapping her foot, her arms still sternly crossed.

"Girl, you know I love you and I want you to be happy right?" Alya said in a more gentle tone.

Marinette nodded her head slowly, looking down at her feet feeling almost ashamed for some reason.

"You know for the past two years I've tried to help you with this whole 'Adrien problem', and every time, no offense, you just can't form a basic conversation with the guy!"

Marinette frowned at Alya's harsh but true words as she continued her rant.

"I just think…You know now that we are seniors and all… It may be time to move on…" Alya said with a hint of remorse, truly she wanted Marinette to be happy in the end and she knew part of that happiness could have come from the fact she could have had Adrien as her boyfriend or whatever exactly Marinette wanted him to be, if only she had the confidence to say the things she wanted to say to him.

Marinette froze, the possibility, the mere thought of moving on from Adrien was at the farthest back possible in her head. As she thought about it, it did make sense though, they would probably be going to different colleges and not to mention that in most of her free time she would either be designing or having various Ladybug related things to do.  
Still, when she looked across the schoolyard to gaze at him once more, she saw him smiling at a joke their friend Nino made, she couldn't help but also smile. Yes, she loved him, she knew that was true. Then she remembered, there was no way that someone like him could ever love someone like her. She felt her eyes dampen and that smile on her face turned into more of a frown. She remembered that she was literally nothing in comparison to him, he would be a famous model in the future, she would be far beneath him even if she did make a successful career about of designing.

Alya almost immediately picked up on Marinette's sudden mood change and she felt a bit bad that she was so blunt about her opinion when she knew how insecure Marinette already was with herself.

"H-hey now girl! I mean, there _is_ still this year so you still have a shot!" said Alya, hoping to stir some hope within her friend who looked already bleak.

Marinette looked over at Adrien longingly once more as she witnessed him forced into a hug with Chloe, a face of clear distraught plastered on his face, however in her eyes it didn't help ease any of her problems as her paranoia got the best of her.

"I don't know Alya, maybe you're right, I mean just look how popular Adrien is with everyone, he would never notice anyone like me." Marinette sighed as she stared down at the stone pavement, her shadow cast over her vision as the sun was beggining to set.

"Girl, I don't know how many times to do have to tell you what an amazing person you are, and if he can't even see that after all this time then it's his loss!" Alya said sternly.

"I-It's not really his fault, like you said, I just… don't have the courage to-" Marinette was crudely interrupted by a large crash that erupted not too far from their current location. All eyes became suddenly alert as they knew very well that it was likely an akuma attack once again. Marinette inwardly groaned, she really was not feeling it today but she knew complaining would get her nowhere.

She didn't notice that Adrien had quickly slipped away before a huge crowd of people rushed and left Marinette and Alya surged in the midst of it all. Another large crash ensued making Marinette that much more eager to change.

She noticed an opening in the crowd, there was a wall that she could possibly transform behind, it would be risky but it was a risk she had to take.

As she was about to dash off towards the wall her hand was gripped by Alya, who seemed way more enthusiastic about the situation than anyone else, evident by the screams and panic filling the schoolyard.

"C'mon girl! We gotta see Ladybug and Chat Noir in action! You always miss the action, but not this time!" Alya began pulling her towards the next explosion, how did Marinette end up with such a crazy friend, she wondered to herself.

"A-Alya! It's not safe! We don't know what that akuma is capable of!" Marinette blurted in protest as she tried to resist Alya's iron grip dragging her.

She was ignored as Alya continued to drag Marinette, her phone in her other hand recording the whole scene.

"Just wait until I get this on my Ladyblog, I can tell this fight is going to be the best one yet!"

Marinette just rolled her eyes, " _There won't even be a fight if I can't transform!"_ She thought to herself a bit peeved.

" _I hope Chat can hold the akuma off until I get a chance to escape!"_ She sighed continuing to get dragged along.

* * *

Just as she feared, when getting to the clearing where the akuma currently was she could only watch in horror as her partner Chat Noir was struggling solo against the akuma who looked… quite fancy for an akuma.

She appeared to be in a long wedding gown, draping for several feet as she levitated in the air, her ghostly white hair in a random array and seemingly looking like it defied gravity.

The akuma noticed a crowd of people gathered beneath her, including Alya and Marinette. She frowned angrily at them all, and then spoke in a chilling tone.

"Citizens of Paris! My name is the Bride and I _kindly_ request that Ladybug and Chat Noir hand over their miraculous' immediately."

In her hand she gripped a bouquet of blood red roses, they seemed to be sparkling with some sort of glimmer which led Marinette to believe that the akuma was inside it.

"Alya! We better get out of here! This is going to get bad soon!" Marinette urgently whispered to Alya who seemed extremely intent on filming the scene.

"Calm down girl, Ladybug will be here soon!"

Marinette inwardly facepalmed as she tried to look for an opening to escape from the crowd and transform.

"If not… I will take immense satisfaction in making everyone feel the pain I feel!" The akuma spoke as she began to grit her teeth whilst a a flurry of pollen was blasted out from her bouquet, it sprinkled down on a crowd of people who looked desperate to escape. As it hit the ground, the people in the crowd stopped running and began to collapse, crying and screaming in despair. The moans of melancholy sent chills down Marinette's spine, this wasn't good, this akuma could influence emotion with that bouquet of hers. She knew she had to get out and try and transform but she was still squished in the middle of a crowd, slowly trying to move as far away from the Akuma as possible, with the exception of Alya who seemed to just be getting closer and closer to it.

Marinette saw Chat jump towards the floating woman only for her to quickly sidestep out of the way, she scoffed as Chat landed a ways away from her.

"You! Men are all the same! Taking a woman's heart and _breaking it!"_ The akuma screamed shooting a blast of pollen towards Chat. The color of the pollen was a reddish color, and if it didn't explode as it hit something it would almost be considered beautiful. Unfortunately, the pollen blast sent Chat flying through the air and knocked onto some sort of car. Even from a distance Marinette could hear the groans of pain emitted from the landing, and she couldn't sit back and watch idly anymore.

The woman floated down next to Chat who seemed to be struggling to get up from the knock, using his baton as support to at least sit up straight.

Holding up her bouquet to him, she seemed ready to fire another blast at him, and he was in no condition to attempt to run.

Marinette was not about to let it end this way, quickly sprinting towards the two of them she picked up a large piece of debris that was created from one of the akuma's explosion. It was certainly heavy, but due to her strength from being Ladybug she was able to do feats that weren't possible for normal humans.

"Hand them over kitty-cat, and I may just let you live." She threatened in a cold tone.

"I'll never give you them! Even if I die here, Ladybug will stop you!" He growled, struggling to stand up.

"So be it." The bouquet began to glow and it appeared like a shot was being formed.

"Nooooo!" Marinette screamed, coming out of seemingly nowhere, jumping high into the air and then crashing down at tremendous speeds, then promptly smashing the debris on the akuma.

"Agh! What the hell!" The akuma screamed before collapsing to the floor, unconscious.

Chat just stood there baffled, what the actual hell was she thinking? This was a civilian getting involved in an akuma fight, that just… doesn't happen! Sure he was grateful for the help, but it was so dangerous that he almost wanted to scold her for being so reckless! Not just that, this was someone Chat knew, well… Sort-of, it was Marinette. Sure they were, 'friends' but not anything that close, and he knew that she seemed to dislike Adrien as she never seemed to be able to form a coherent sentence around him. It sort of upset him that she didn't like him as Adrien, but here she was, knocking out akuma's for Chat Noir, someone she knows even less.

"I… um… Sorry!" Marinette squeaked as she ran away from the sight as soon as possible, leaving Chat just staring blankly at the unconscious akuma.

"What… Just happened?" He mumbled.

* * *

Marinette panted heavily as she finally was safely hidden in an alley way, despite being completely out of breath she knew she had to change quickly.

She reached in her bag to get out Tikki, but she noticed it was already unzipped, and in front of her was Tikki who was crossing her arms disapprovingly.

"Tikki I-" "Marinette! You should know better than to interfere with these kinds of things when you're not ladybug! What could have happened to you if that akuma hadn't been knocked out by that blow!?" Tikki sounded like she was attempting to sound angry, but it sounded more concerned than infuriated to Marinette's ears.

"We'll talk about this later, we gotta hurry and purify that akuma before that woman wakes up!" Tikki exclaims.

Marinette just nods as she quickly transforms into ladybug. With a quick sling of her yoyo she was back at the sight in no time. Thankfully, the akuma was still lying on the floor passed out. Chat was still in the same spot Marinette last saw him, and he still had a dumbfounded expression on his face. She wasn't entirely sure why, it couldn't possibly because of her 'help' could it?

Ladybug wasted no time in grabbing the bouquet from the woman and promptly smashing it on her knee to reveal a purple butterfly, in which she quickly flung her yoyo and purified it.

She knew she had to use lucky charm so that the damage on the city would be healed, so in doing so, the damage from the city was repaired, including the damage done to civilians and Chat.

The woman transformed back into a normal being and still stood there on the floor, silently weeping. Her wedding dress looked worn out and torn almost, something terrible must have happened to her.

"I-I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to do all this…" She whimpered as she began to stand up slowly.

"It's alright, you're safe now." Ladybug said in a comforting tone, she looked to Chat to help her calm the woman down, but he still was just standing there blankly.

Ladybug sighed as she probed a little bit more to try and comfort the woman. Apparently her groom rejected her at the altar and was having a secret affair the whole time in their relationship. Ladybug felt awful for the woman, but knew in the end that there was nothing she really could do to change the situation.

After sending the woman on her way, Ladybug walked up to Chat to see what was bothering him now, surely that pollen-effect wouldn't still be lingering around after purification, and besides she didn't see him get hit with any of _that_ kind of pollen.

"Hey…Kitty? You ok?" Ladybug tilted her head, inspecting Chat as he stood there blankly still.

"Ah! Uh… Yeah… I'm ok M'lady, I just…I-I gotta go…" He said quietly, not even making eye-contact with Ladybug, before she knew it he was already gone before she could even apologize about being late, which wasn't really her fault.

"Er.. Ok bye I guess…" She mummers to herself as he was already far in the distance.

"Ladybug waaaaiiitttt!" A voice pierced as she noticed a girl running up to her, just as she was about to leave too. It was of course Alya, who again seemed way too peppy after an akuma attack.

"I was hoping you had time for an intervi-" "I"m really sorry, but my earrings are running out and I have to get going!" Ladybug quickly interjected before swinging away as fast as she could with her yoyo.

Alya smiled as she watched Ladybug soar off, "Ok! Maybe next time then!" She waved with her phone watching her leave.

* * *

The wind blasted against Ladybug's face as she raced to get closer to home, the sun was almost completely set and the winds were getting a bit chilly. Despite all this, she couldn't help but wonder why Chat was acting so strange earlier, she hoped he wasn't too angry at her being late to the scene. She inwardly groaned remembering that Tikki was going to give her the lecture of a lifetime once she retransformed.

"C'est la vie." She mumbled with a frown as she took another large swing towards home.

* * *

 **(A/N): Thanks so much for reading my first chapter! I think the writing will get better as I go along, but for now I just wanted to get the 'introduction' blah out of the way, so sorry if it seems a bit brief at times, but I don't want to bore you all with my excessive details I tend to write in scenes, especially not for the first chapter! Leave a review and let me know what you think! See ya next time :3!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N): I'm backkk! This chapter is another 'introduction' chapter, sort-of. I know the MariChat balconey thing has been done so much in other Fanfictions but I'm just so freaking OBSESSED with it that I just was like, why not. So yeah, Also a great thank you to all my reviewers, followers and favorites. You are my motivation to continue onwards! So please help me through this writing journey if you can! :D**

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Chat stood at a distance, aimlessly staring at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. He'd been there before, in both his forms but even so, he was nervous about just going up and talking to Marinette as Chat Noir. Would she be intimidated by him? No, that couldn't be, when he teamed up with her in the Evillustrator incident she didn't seem the least bit frightened, in fact that incident showed off more of Marinette's true colors than he could ever imagine. He never realized how resourceful and crafty she really could be. He couldn't really get her to open up to him in the last few years they've known each other as Adrien. While it did sadden him, he realized that for some odd reason she just… did not like him, at least as Adrien. Despite the fact that they were 'friends' for the last few years.

The wind bristled through his messy blonde hair and plastered up against his face as he began prodding over to the bakery, it certainly was getting more chilly as it was autumn after all. Adrien wasn't looking forward to the coming months. He didn't care much for winter honestly, his house always felt more cold and lonely than usual. Devoid of any kind of love or affection, it would only be heightened in the cold, empty and loneliness of winter.

He brushed off the thoughts of his solitary lifestyle and focused on his destination ahead, he had to have a little _chat_ with a certain Princess right now.

* * *

Marinette was busy at work on her latest sketch, she tended to get super focused on her designing that she hardly would pay attention to her surroundings around her. Tongue sticking out and head tilted to the side and all. Her hair was loosely fallen out of their typical pig-tails and in a more relaxed state. Over the years her hair had grown out quite a bit longer and it was almost getting difficult to put them in pigtails as she would normally.

She sighed, It was the time of day when the sun was setting, while most would find it the most beautiful time of day, she found it a little annoying for her lighting. Then, suddenly the lighting got extremely terrible and dark in front of her sketchbook. She peered up from her work and was surprised to see her partner, Chat Noir, standing on her balcony, not only ruining the lighting but also giving her a fright.

She stood up curiously and headed over to the window to unlock it as she stepped out.

"Chat Noir? What are you doing here?" She asked, genuinely surprised. After all there was really no connection between him and Marinette, at least as a civilian. Or she _hoped_ that he hadn't somehow found out her actual identity and was here to confront her about it or something.

She gazed at him for a moment intently, over the years he certainly had matured in face and body, he was actually really tall and he would often tease Marinette-or rather _Ladybug_ about being 'short', even though being 5'5 isn't exactly all that short for a 17-year-old girl. In comparison, Chat was about 6'2 which was almost 'towering' above her. She honestly didn't know how old he was but he couldn't be that much older than her as she heard him mention once that he was in high school, which year he was in was unknown to her. She frankly tried to not learn too much about Chat's civilian life as Ladybug because that would put them both at risk, as much as it pained her to not know one of her best friends when she wasn't Ladybug. He had a really defined upper-body as well, which was to be expected after these past few years of intense crime fighting. His distinctive blonde hair was as messy as ever, probably even more than usual due to the winds outside. All the while he was scratching the back of his head nervously looking at the floor.

Marinette would _almost_ think that he looked cute looking all nervous like that, if her heart wasn't already stolen by another blonde with the same brilliantly green eyes that just sent shivers down her entire being.

"Well hey there, Princess." He said so smoothly that she honestly could not even detect a hint of that nervousness she thought she observed.

Puffing out her cheeks in a bit of annoyance she spoke again, "I'll ask again Chat Noir, to what do I owe the _pleasure_ of having you on my balcony, this _lovely_ evening." Her voice just dripping with sarcasm.

Chat's ears twitched as his grin widened even further. He was going to have some fun, that part was certain.

"Now that you mention it, it is a _pawsitively_ lovely evening. I would say it's almost as beautiful as you." He smirked, he wasn't lying actually. To him, she looked absolutely stunning right now, her ocean blue hair left free and flowing like water, her eyes only luminescent in the reflecting rays of the sunset flickering on them. They looked so similar to Ladybug's… Maybe that's why he was so enticed at the moment, or could it be… Marinette was _just_ that beautiful. He was certainly doing a splendid job of hiding his obvious attraction towards her by spilling out such a corny and overused pick-up line.

Marinette snorted and held back a loud chuckle in response. He honestly was not expecting that. He was certain she would get all flustered due to her nature, but here she was, actually _unphased_ by him, such a change when she talked to Adrien.

"That's the best you got? It's no wonder you're still single after all these years." She teased, a little too comfortably, she had to remember she was Marinette and not Ladybug, she can't go around acting like they were best friends or anything in this form.

" _Meowch!_ You're words cut deeper than any knife I've faced, princess!" He dramatically clutched his chest and pretended to feign himself against the railing.

She couldn't help but smile a little at his antics, he was _such_ a dork.

He chuckled standing up straight again, amused at himself he got her to smile.

"So really though, any reason you came here? Or did you just come to flirt?" She placed her hand on her hip and stared at him slightly elated but was masked with a face of annoyance.

"Let's just say…" He sauntered closer and closer to her face, she was almost in a trance as his large green orbs were illuminated in the setting rays of the sun, glowing vibrantly as they peered into hers.

"I like to do a bit of both." He mummers in a husky, and low tone. His face was so close to hers so that when he spoke she could practically feel his warm breath creeping up against her slightly wind-chilled skin. "Keeps things interesting." He held back a little chuckle noticing how embarrassed she was getting.

She felt her cheeks tint pink for a moment but then quickly regained composure and backed her head away from him to spread the distance, earning a small mischievous grin from him.

"I-er…So what's the reason?" She quivered gently, hair gently flowing about in the light breeze.

"Well… As you know my darling Princess. You did such a courageous act to save me today that I couldn't help but feel com _paw_ led to come over and give you a _paw_ per thank you." He bowed as Marinette internally cringed at his puns.

She then remembered her 'courageous act' earlier that day. Really she didn't think much of it, but looking from his point a view, a civilian who interfered with an akuma attack to save someone she barely knows would be considered a 'courageous act' to some, maybe. She was just used to saving people on a daily basis that it hardly felt weird doing it as Marinette.

"It's no trouble, you looked like you needed help and I knew someone had to do something."

Chat's tail swished back and forth in amusement, "I could have handled myself, just so you know." He puffed out his chest to show off, just making Marinette just rolled her eyes.

"I really appreciate it though… The help I mean. I'm impressed you could lift that much debris to knock someone out like that, remind me to stay on your good side _Purrincess_." He flashed her another devilish smile.

"I don't know, I don't think you were ever _on_ my good side to begin with, kitty." She tapped her finger to her mouth dramatically in a teasing fashion.

Chat's eyes widened for a moment before he realized that Marinette was actually going along and _joking_ with him. She would never be so open and talkative like this to Adrien and Chat found he was begging to really like this side of Marinette, even though they had been speaking for only a short time.

"I never was? After all I've done for Paris to keep you safe, I'm still not on your good side?" He sat down on one of her chairs that were tattered around the balcony.

Marinette just giggled as they just continued chatting for quite some time. Chat honestly forgot what he even came here to tell Marinette, she was just so comforting to talk to, and he internally beat himself up for not trying to get to know her better as Adrien all these years.

With every witty sentence he spouted out she always had a sarcastic remark to combat him, and he was frankly beyond impressed at her unexpected social attitude.

Marinette was also enjoying herself, she would never admit it to herself though, she liked to keep things with Chat strictly professional. At least when she was Ladybug, so it was such a change for her to open up and be so talkative and teasing with him. She was very good at brushing off his flirtatious advances, obviously used to them as Ladybug that she hardly thought they meant anything. That didn't stop her from biting back a little bit, and she could tell he was enjoying this as much as her.

It had been several hours of them just chatting on that balcony, both franky didn't even realize how quickly the time just flew by. Marinette never knew it was wrong to start talking to Chat so casually as a citizen, but he really opened up something inside her, something that made her… more herself.

Chat couldn't help but feel elated when he was talking to Marinette, despite the fact that they hardly talked much as civilians, when she was with Chat she seemed to hold no grudge against him and he was just so overjoyed that they could finally talk normally. He never realized how cool, creative, not to mention cute she was. Her beauty could really only be matched by Ladybug, even so, with her hair down right now just hypnotizing him, he felt she was winning in that category.

She yawned gently and Chat felt a little sad noticing the surroundings were night, which meant he had to go back 'home', alone.

"I better go to bed, I don't know about you but I got school tomorrow." She stretched her arms out dramatically before standing up slowly.

"This cat's in the same bag, Princess. Such a shame too, I was really enjoying your company." He grinned once more before also standing up.

"Make one more pun and I will push you off this roof." She growled softly.

Chat just laughed, she was so adorable when she got all annoyed.

"Alright, alright. A good knight knows how to give his Princess some space."

"I'm no Princess, Chat Noir." She just looked towards the floor insecurely, kicking her feet slowly on the balcony floor.

"Hmm?" He hummed smiling a bit.

"What?" She mumbled in a confused tone, her bluebell eyes looking straight into his.

"I guess, I'll have to prove to you what a _Princess_ you are then." He smirked before doing a classic two-fingered salute and jumping off the balcony and into the night.

Marinette sighed as she began to retreat into her room, it was getting late after all. Still, she couldn't help but loathe the fact that she really did enjoy that time talking with Chat Noir, it was nice to have someone shower her in so much attention, even if it wasn't really real or anything.

She also had no idea if he would come back, some part of her was hoping he would, after that last statement maybe he would.

She sighed a little too happily before stepping into her room to find none other than Tikki floating about and staring at Mariette a little concerned.

' _Oh crap, I forgot all about the lecture she was going to give me._ '

Marinette just sighed as she braced herself for Tikki's 'wrath'.

It was going to be a long night.


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N): Woot! I'm back guys! Sorry for the wait but here is the next chapter! Thank you so much for the follows/favorites and reviews! Please keep it up, it really it my motivation to keep going and I work faster knowing I have people who are reading the story ^^.**

* * *

Marinette awoke early for some reason, oddly early for her standards. About a full hour than she normally wakes up, she wasn't going to complain though, she was always the last person to walk in the class and she's gotten a _few_ more tardies than the average student.

Tikki was sound asleep beside Marinette's pillow, she wasn't about to wake her just yet, she figured she must be tired after her whole 'rant' last night, about being reckless and how it's not safe to interfere with akuma business when she wasn't Ladybug. Tikki was at least understanding that Marinette really had no choice though, if she hadn't stepped in, who knows what would have happened to Chat. Still, she did not want this to become a habit, she really worried about Marinette's safety above all else and Marinette understood that in the end.

Marinette stepped into the bathroom and began to get ready for the day, she still found it strange she was wide awake before her alarm clock went off, in all her years in high school she could only pick out a small handful of days that had occurred.

Washing her face off and begging to brush her hair absentmindedly, her thoughts wandered back to the events of last night with Chat. It felt so strange for her to think about now in the morning. It all felt like some sort of dream really, how often does a superhero come and visit?

Well, she _did_ basically save his life, but that's besides the point.

She wondered how Chat knew where she lived, the only time he had ever talked to her was the Evillustrator incident and that was two years ago! The only way he could have known is if he remembered where she lived all this time when Ladybug asked him to work with herself in that whole fiasco.

She honestly couldn't tell what his game was really, he came to say thanks to her and it sounded like he had something else to say, but all they did was talk like they had been friends for years. Well, they _have_ been friends for years, but he doesn't know she's Ladybug, or at least, he _better_ not.

Marinette felt a surge of anxiety wash through her, could it be he figured her out?! No… There's no possible way…Even so, it doesn't explain why he felt so… comfortable taking to her? Maybe he was just like that with everyone he met or something.

She would save the questions for later she thought, right now she wanted to get ready for school early so maybe she would actually have time to talk to her friends.

* * *

"Tikki are you ready to go?" Marinette peeked her head out of the bathroom. A curler falling out of her hair clumsily as she did. Quickly she gasped and picked it up swiftly.

Tikki yawned and rubbed her eyes, honestly surprised to see Marinette awake before her. Usually she was the one to always wake her up, so it was a strange feeling for it to be the other way around.

"I'll be ready in a second!" Tikki chirps, feeling a lot better after getting out her concerns with Marinette last night. Still she wondered, what on earth could have made Marinette get up so early today? Maybe it was just coincidence or something, she hoped she didn't upset Marinette too much, she cared so much for her and she just wanted to be sure she would always be safe.

Bursting out of her bathroom door, Marinette stood in front of her bedroom mirror admiring her custom designed clothing, made by none other than herself.

It was outfit for autumn, a cream colored outer shirt with a lightly tinged orange shirt and a simple white skirt that looked simple at first but had really intricate ruffles sewn into it. Her hair was in a low ponytail which she let drape over her left shoulder, it was a bit curled and really looked quite stunning in it of itself.

"Wow, Marinette! You look so cute today!" Tikki chimed, floating up next to her and admiring her new look.

The bluenette just blushed as she scanned her outfit once more in the mirror, feeling pretty proud of herself.

"I'm surprised though! You usually never wear your outfits!" Tikki said excitedly but also a bit curiously.

"You're right Tikki." She paused a moment and turned to look towards the kwami.

"But I think it's time to move forward, if I want to become a designer, I need to build up some confidence in myself! It's time I start being proud of all the work I've done and put myself out there for a change!" Marinette sounded much more positive and elated, and Tikki was not really sure why, but she was not going to complain. When a Ladybug is feeling happy, their power will only continue to grow to even more potent levels, and she was excited to see just how far Marinette would go with this new found attitude.

Marinette herself didn't realize it, but that talk with Chat yesterday really made her feel… Happy. While she usually brushed off his advances as Ladybug, the fact that he complimented her so much as _Marinette_ and was willing to listen to all her rambles made her feel like maybe she wasn't such a 'useless' person after all. She knew none of Chat's flirting really meant anything, or so she thought. From what she has seen he seems to flirt with every girl he meets, even though she's only seen him meet two girls and both of them have been her ironically. Who knows who he flirts with in his free time, but she didn't care, totally…

She didn't care at _all_. At least that's what she kept telling herself as she grabbed her matching orange purse and headed out the door, Tikki following close behind.

"Hey, Mariiiii!" A girlish voice squealed from behind the blue haired girl, quickly tucking Tikki deeper in her purse she turned around and was greeted by a familiar face.

Lila Rossie stood with a large smile upon her dolled up and powdered face. The friendship between Marinette and Lila was a strange one, after the incident with Ladybug calling her out, Marinette had attempted to make up with Lila whilst in her alter ego but was met with failure as she didn't forgive her in the end.

At school, people were accusing Lila of being a liar, which she technically was but Marinette being the kind soul that she was and also feeling responsible, decided to befriend Lila in her civilian form. She may not show it outwardly, but Lila changed after Marinette befriended her, eternally grateful for the friendship the bluenette has gifted her over the years. She went on to become one of Marinette's best friends and often hung out with her with Alya.

"Oh uh… Hey Lila. What's up?" Marinette said hiding the panic in her voice, trying to make sure Tikki is out of sight.

"What's up? What's up?! _You_ are what's up Mari!" Lila clapped her hands together excitedly, earning her a weird gaze from Marinette who looked to be utterly confused.

"Um…I'm not following…" Marinette mumbled as her gaze slowly drifted off of Lila.

"Seriously Mari! Have you seen the news!? You're like everywhere!" Lila chirped almost too fast for her to follow.

Marinette's heart was beating loudly now and she felt herself begin to sweat slightly with anxiety. She hadn't checked the news last night due to a certain cat taking up her whole evening, but what could she be on the news for?

"Wha…What did I do?!" Marinette panted, her hands flying up to her face to hold back further gasps.

"You seriously don't-MARINETTE!" Lila screamed in a tone that sounded both surprised and demanding, startling Marinette further.

"What?!" The bluenette squeaked.

"You don't remember going all freaking ninja warrior on that akuma yesterday?! You _literally_ saved Chat Noir's life! How could you NOT expect to be on the news?!" Lila was dumbfounded at the naivety of her friend.

"Wait, what!? I'm on the news?!" Marinette began panting louder audibly and her face began to swell up into a rosy shade in anxious way.

"Yeah Mari! You're everywhere!" Lila brought back her smile, her glossy lips glimmering in the morning sun, making it almost difficult to tell what she was doing with her mouth. She pulls out her fancy phone that probably hasn't even been in stores yet out. Going onto her social media and pulling up the latest news story. Sure enough, there she was, not as Ladybug but as Marinette. Timid, shy and insecure Marinette saving the day. Now looking back, she _probably_ should have used a lighter piece of debris, because from the way the camera filmed it, it looked absolutely _enormous_ for a normal teenage girl to lift.

"I uh…" She stammered nervously.

"Like wow Mari! You might even be more popular than me now… being that I am still a model and all…" She muttered out the last part.

Marinette was too busy having a mini breakdown in her head, how could she get herself recorded as a civilian doing superhero work! What if more people start spying on her already suspicious life and find out her secret! She had to lay low and not bring anymore attention to herself.

Lila was unaware of Marinette's anxiety attack and grabbed her by the hand peppily.

"Come on Mari! Alya will be waiting for us at school! So let's go!" She chirped while forcefully tugging on her arm to drag her along.

* * *

Arriving at the school was probably the most stressful moment of Marinette's life, sure she was used to being in the spotlight. But that was because she was always wearing a mask! She had nothing to hide herself with now!

Conversation seemed to dribble from loud banter to soft whispers and Marinette and Lila began to walk through the courtyard. Eyes from every direction were peering curiously at Marinette. Lila, of course fluffed out her thick caramel brown hair to look more presentable when walking, although the attention was clearly on Marinette she could always pretend that it was on her.

After what felt like endless hours of eyes peering at her she was finally met by familiar faces. Alya and Nino stood at the top of the stairs, Alya's already wide smile somehow grew larger when Marinette came into her view. Quickly ditching her boyfriend much to his dismay and running down the stairs at speeds Marinette didn't know were possible and glomping the poor distressed girl who was already held down on the other side by Lila.

" _GIRRRRRL_!" Alya screamed so loud that Marinette thought her ears might give out.

"Y-yes…?" Marinette squeaked.

"I cannot believe that I wasn't there to see what you _did_ yesterday! Look at my baby girl! All grown up and saving Paris!" She tightened her grip around her making Marinette flush white.

"I-It wasn't all that great A-"

"Don't give me that crap, girl!" Alya growled, clearly annoyed but still somehow elated.

"What you did was so amazing that you _damn_ well better think you at least did good here! I mean you saved Chat Noir! I didn't know you could even lift that much weight! I can't believe I wasn't there to see it all! I don't know what I was even do-" "Ok Alya, let's just calm down." A much more mellow voice chimed in, coming from Nino who felt sympathy for Marinette who hasn't hardly been able to breath since Alya's death hug.

Alya unhappily let go of Marinette, but her smile was quickly returned when she saw Adrien from a distance. She quickly yelled out for him to come over, much to Marinette's dismay. She really tried to tell Alya that she wasn't in the state to deal with Adrien right now but she was too busy recovering her breath from the tight hug that nobody could understand what she was saying between her pants.

"Hey guys." Adrien softly smiled putting up his hand in a wave of sorts.

Lila scoffed when she saw Adrien, after the whole Ladybug incident a while back she didn't only hate Ladybug, she also hated Adrien too. She knew Marinette was smitten with him and she was extremely disapproving of the crush as she wanted Marinette to be happy and not get her heart broken by him. Adrien wasn't anything like Lila made him out to be in her head but it was nearly impossible for him to change her opinion of him at this point.

Lila stormed off as soon as Adrien started getting closer to the group, Adrien was used to Lila's hatred of him so he was unphased.

"So what's going on?" He asked, tilting his head slightly to the left, his perfect blonde locks draping along with him.

"What's going on?!" Alya steamed almost sounding demented. Adrien's eyes widened in surprise.

"Huff… Sorry, I mean… Do you like have anything to say to Marinette?" Her anger turning quickly back into a teasing mood.

Adrien turned to look at Marinette who was finally recovering and breathing more normally. He glanced at her up and down, trying nervously not to act Chat like in front of her, now that she had a better idea of who he truly was.

"Er…Hi Marinette… You look nice today." He fumbled nervously, Marinette felt her face reheat and turn another shade of red she didn't know she could.

"T-thanks…" She barely whispered, with all that's been going on today Adrien was the only one who noticed the effort she put in herself today and she was trying hard not to keep holding on to the gaze of their eyes.

"That's all you have to say?!" Alya sounded pleading like there was something more she wanted to hear.

"Wha…?" Adrien looked confused as Alya just sighed. If it were any other time Alya would have been squealing with excitement for her friend Marinette but right now she was determined to make sure Adrien knew just how amazing her friend was.

"H-have you not seen the news?!" Alya screamed once more, finally Marinette stepped up, knowing how out of control her friend could get when she was frustrated.

"Uh… Come on Alya we gotta head to class." Marinette said as she grabbed Alya and began pulling her away from her boyfriend and Adrien. Alya was grumbling and screaming madly to stay but Marinette quietly hummed on and kept dragging her along. She turned once more and smiled sweetly at Adrien. Although she was in the distance now she could have sworn she saw him blush a little when she did.

She sighed, and thought to herself, _'Was he blushing…? No… There's no way…It's all in my head…'_ Continuing to drag Alya through the halls, earning even more stares than before.

"What just happened?" Nino nudged at Adrien, who was still standing there with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"I-I don't know." He smiled and breathed out slowly, continuing to stare at the direction Marinette left.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N): Ok! Well, I would like to firstly apologize for the delay as well as the shortness of this chapter but I felt like I needed to at least put something out there, it's been too long! Also, you may have noticed that I changed the rating from M to T for the time being, I do this because nothing M worthy will be happening real soon so that may very well change in the future. Unless you guys are anxious for one of 'those' scenes already lol.**

 **ALSO I WANT TO SAY A HUUUUUGE THANK YOU TO YOU REVIEWERS! LIKE HONESTLY YOU ARE THE REASON I KEEP WRITING! Also thank you SO much, especially to that guest review that gives such an in-depth review like you really just make my day you all.**

* * *

The class couldn't be any slower for Adrien that day, he didn't say it aloud but all his thoughts were directed towards Marinette. He knew for a fact that his last visit would certainly not be close to his last. There was just something about her that he couldn't quite figure it out, and it was driving him up the wall in wanting to figure out what exactly is making her so special to him.

True, they are technically 'friends', but the whole new side she showed to him last night and the day before in saving him really made him question his whole opinion about her. He had truly never met someone so genuine, so approachable, so _beautiful…_ He felt his cheeks redden at just the image of seeing her again. Her outfit today was certainly not helping control his teenage hormones. He had to see her one more time, and then he would be satisfied and push all thoughts of Marientte out of his system for the day.

Subtly he tried turning around just to quickly glance at her. He was wrong when he said just for a moment.

The way the sunlight coming from the window illuminated her rich blue locks just made him quiver silently. His eyes scanned her for longer than they should have because when her eyes met his, he could have just fainted right then and there. She flashed him a small smile and he grinned foolishly large back at her, earning a small laugh that was silenced by her mouth. He would have stayed staring at her all day but Nino, sitting right next to him nudged him for his attention to turn towards the front. In doing so, he was met by an unhappy professor glaring right at him. Quickly brushing it off to avoid trouble he buried his head back in his notes blushing as he heard small snickers of amusement around him.

* * *

The ring of the bell signaled to Marinette, who was in some sort of a daze that class was over. She looked to her right to find Alya grinning mischievously at her, not even wanting to question the gaze she stood up and yawned. Most of the class was already out the door by the time she finally stood up.

"C'mon Alya, let's go find Lila and head home." She said drowsily as she stretched her legs.

" _Girl!"_ Alya said unnecessarily loud. Earning a surprised look on her blue haired friend.

"Geez Alya! You keep sca-" " _Girl!_ Seriously did you catch that look Adrien gave you earlier?! It's a sign!" She clapped loudly as she stood up as well.

"A sign of what?" Marinette wondered, genuinely confused.

"That he _likes_ you." Her grin widening as she spoke.

"Oh." Marinette simply shrugged, making Alya's mouth agape in shock.

"I thought you would be going _ecstatic_ at this news!?" Alya looked extremely confused at Marinette's reaction.

"Well… I've had a lot on my mind recently is all." She turned looking away from Alya as she began walking out of the class. Alya quickly scampered behind her, still dumbfounded at Marinette's sudden shift of attitude.

* * *

Lila was awaiting Marinette and Alya just outside of the school, while she had changed over the years she still would act a bit spoiled now and then.

' _Ugh they always take so long to get out of class!'_ She complained as she puffed out her cheek in annoyance.

She was staring at the floor for a good while before she heard footsteps approach her, having assumed it was Marinette and Alya she lifted her face up to speak eagerly.

"Finally! You guys really need t-" She paused midway as she met eye to eye with none other than Adrien. He seemed to be trying his best to put on an affable smile but Lila's face suddenly shifted into a scowl.

"Do you need something?" She spat coldly, crossing her arms and turning her gaze away from him completely.

"I uh… I was just wondering if you've seen Marinette around… I need to ask her something." He was trying hard to not blush as he spoke about Marinette but it was beginning to get harder as his thoughts of her just would not leave.

Lila absolutely abhorred Adrien after that event several years ago and there was no way in hell she was going to let this ' _heartbreaker teen-throb_ ' get anywhere near Marinette. She knew Marinette had a sort of crush on him but no matter how much she would tell her she can do so much better than him it would always fail. While it may seem like she was some sort of jealous friend, she really was, in fact, looking out for Marinette. The last thing she wanted was for her to get her heart shattered like hers was.

"Yeah, she left a while ago. I'm just waiting for Alya now." She lied perfectly.

"O-oh! Well uh, thanks, Lila." He said stammering, a bit confused as to why Marinette left early _and_ without Alya. His thoughts of confusion quickly faded once he remembered that he would get to visit her sooner, and with that, he was off.

"Asshole," Lila muttered under her breath as Adrien left her gaze. Regaining composure she flipped her hair and continued waiting for her friends to come out as if nothing had happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N): Ok wow... This has been a long time since I've updated! I swear I have a reasonable excuse though... kinda. The thing is, I've been working super hard on like 4 other stories that I'm planning on posting here or on Wattpad so that's why I've been kinda neglecting this one here :(. The reason being is that I made the mistake of simply posting this story without any buffer, so I have to just continuously write and post to have a somewhat decent schedule when I should have made a few buffer chapters to save myself :(. Oh well! Here's the next chapter anyway, hope you enjoy it. I'm going to try my best to make the next update faster than that long wait I forced you all to sit through ..**

* * *

The entire walk home was filled with Alya babbling away about Marinette's ' _wondrous save',_ much to her dismay.

"I'm never going to get over this amazing footage. I'm so amazed Mari, seriously." Alya smiled replaying the scene of Marinette's events from yesterday on her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that very day.

"Give it a rest Alya, geez. Poor Mari is not used to all this attention." Lila cooed sympathetically noting how uncomfortable Marinette looked being in the spotlight all the time. Sure, she was Ladybug and used to being the very center of attention, but right now she was Marinette. She felt vulnerable being talked about so much by people.

As the girls walked eyes kept peering over and staring from the streets around them. Alya was grinning as she saw a group of people all scurrying from across the streets to point and gawk at Marinette.

"See Mari? You're going to be famous at this rate!" Alya squealed, nudging herself onto her jokingly. Earning a half-hearted and stressful sounding chuckle from the poor bluenette.

Lila, being the perceptive woman she was decided to step in quickly to ease her tensions.

"Don't worry Mari, I'm sure people will forget about this in time." She said warmly with sympathy.

"Forget it?! Why would the-" Alya was cut off mid-sentence by a deathly glare from Lila.

"I-er… I mean, yeah they will probably forget about the whole thing soon." Alya stammered, now realizing how uncomfortable she was probably making Marinette. She felt like she should apologize but she felt embarrassed that she let herself get carried away in excitement.

Marinette just smiled at the two of her friends genuinely, appreciative of the concern, but she knew that this whole ordeal would last a little while. She would just make sure she laid low and didn't bring any more suspicious attention her way, the last thing she needs right now is more people in her life making assumptions about her identity.

In no time at all, they reached the bakery must to the group's dismay.

"Are you sure you can't hang out tonight Mari? It's been so long…" Alya pouted dramatically earning a sigh of guilt from Marinette.

"I'm really sorry Alya, I just have so much on my plate that I just need time to sort things out."

"I get it, girl. I can be patient a little bit longer." She pointed a finger towards the bluenette as she finished.

"But you better not be using this as some excuse to go do something amazing while I can't film you."

"A-Alya-!" Marinette choked on her words, her reaction a bit too much for the friendly accusation. Lila raised a brow skeptically but said nothing.

"Anyways, we better leave Mari to her things. C'mon Alya, you still have _lots_ of juicy info to tell me about you and Nino."

Alya's face turned into a snarky grin as the words Lila uttered rang into her ears.

"Well, I _suppose_ I can tell you a _bit…_ " Alya bit her lip in excitement, truthfully she was so extroverted that she basically _needed_ someone to know her inner thoughts all the time. Lila was well aware of this and winked at Marinette, knowing her plan to get Alya to leave was a success.

Marinette signed a grateful thank you gesture with her hands as Lila and Alya began to turn.

She felt content for a moment before a voice practically scared any life she had still intact in her.

"Are those your friends, Princess?" Chat's voice pierced the air and practically melted on her eardrums.

Her deep blue eyes met his vibrant green orbs momentarily before her pupils dilated in panic.

"C-Chat?! What are you doing here?" She gasped, noticing he was completely upside down, his feet clung to the balcony above the bakery. His blonde hair spilled downwards and his face was stained with an expression of playfulness.

"Do you really need to ask?~" He purred dramatically.

"Yes." She answered sternly, clearly unfazed.

"Yes what?~"

"Chat." She said with more force.

"Yes, Princess?~"

She took a deep breath, trying not to yell.

"What exactly do you think you are doing, on my balcony, in the middle of the day where literally any passerby can see you creepily hanging off a bakery terrace for _no reason!_ "

"Well… I knew you'd be back soon…" He mumbled, now realizing Lila's lie from earlier. He had gotten here far too early, thinking she was already here.

"What?" She inquired with a hint of fear laced behind.

"I-I mean um, I just _figured_ you would be back soon is all, it's not like I knew you were going to get back at right this time or anything. Nothing like that at all!" He gave a forced chuckle which only raised her suspicions more. She noticed his face was turning redder, she figured it was probably because he was upside down and the blood was rushing to his head or something.

She just sighed once more and rolled her eyes.

"Well just get down already you troublesome cat, before someone sees you."

"As you wish, my princess." His voice laden with seduction.

Quickly flipping himself around he landed on the ground next to Marinette as she seemed once again, unfazed by his acrobatic technique which he may or may not have been trying to impress her with. Since she saw him work on a daily basis as Ladybug she didn't really think anything of it of course. He internally felt a little jab.

' _Seriously? That didn't get a reaction out of her?'_ He thought to himself, a bit frustrated.

"Well if there is no reason you came, other than to scare the life out of me then you best be going I guess." Her voice continued.

She turned and was heading towards the bakery's entrance but his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Uh… Well, there _kinda_ was a reason…" He mumbled, his eyes now glued to the floor.

"Hm?" She turned her head to look upon him once more.

"I-uh…Kinda…" He struggled to push out the words as his hand went to the back of his head in an almost frustrated matter.

"You what?" Marinette gazed at him, genuinely confused and curious as to what he was going to say.

"I kinda wanted to…um…talktoyoumore…" The last part was barely audible and he instantly regretted saying it as the words spilled from his mouth. He felt his body chill up, prepared for her to laugh or kick him to the curb, but she just smiled.

He sounded so genuine to her, and that was a side she had truly never seen of him, even as Ladybug. Truthfully she _did_ also like talking to him, but she could do that as Ladybug so she wasn't really that concerned. Besides it probably isn't that safe for her to talk to him as Marinette, he could probably figure her out if they got too close. The thought alone was enough to make her reject his offer, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She took a look at him, his ears all droopy like he was expecting her to say no from the get-go. She felt her lips curl up into a small smile but she turned her head away quickly so he couldn't see it.

"Alright…" She exhaled so softly that if Chat didn't have an enchanted sense of hearing he would have no way heard what she just uttered.

Chat was hardly able to hide his surprise and excitement, he felt his ears perk up straight and his tail swished back and forth at an alarming rate.

"I guess um… Meet me on the balcony or something… It would be weird if we just were talking were everyone could see."

"Hm? I wouldn't mind if everyone saw.~" He winked at her flirtatiously, making her just roll her eyes in response.

"Well _I_ would mind, I already have more than enough attention from my little escapade yesterday." She bit her tongue knowing that she let off a little more than she should have. Luckily she was able to quickly shift the subject before he could get a word in.

"Well uh… I guess I'll meet you up…" Her eyes motioned towards the railing he was just hanging on, she was fully aware he was capable of climbing up to the roof in a matter of seconds.

"Aye aye, captain!" He said dramatically doing a salute before turning and gracefully jumping out of view towards the roof.

Marinette just sighed once more, _'What am I getting myself into…'_


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N): I'm back! Quicker than usual but I wouldn't exactly call it 'quick' lol. I'm really trying hard to get more timely about updates but geez it's really stressful! Everyone's support makes me work so much faster so please keep up all the great things like reviews! They really help me move faster cause I know people are waiting :)!  
**

* * *

Marinette was careful not to seem suspicious when walking in, saying a quick hello to her parents seemed to be enough to satisfy them as they continued working as soon as she passed through the kitchen. With haste, she made her way to her bedroom and began climbing the ladder up to the roof, but before she could, a red light zipped in front of her as she was about to open the trapdoor.

"Marinette!" Tikki's voice seemed hushed yet potent, making Marinette's eyes widen in surprise.

"Tikki? What is it?"

Tikki sighed as she spoke once more, "Marinette… Are you sure about this? Talking to Chat in broad daylight where _anyone_ could happen to pass by and see you? I thought you didn't want any more attention on you." She lectured, truly she sometimes felt like Marinette's conscience outwardly.

"I know Tikki… I really don't want to risk our identity, or Chat's for that matter." She paused for a moment before continuing, "But he seems like he needs someone to talk to and what kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned him?"

Tikki sighed once again with a small smile.

"You really are a Ladybug, always putting others before you."

Marinette felt her cheeks pinken a bit at the compliment but focused her eyes on the door in front of her.

"Well, I don't want to keep him waiting…"

"Alright, I'll be here," Tikki replied as she zipped away swiftly.

With a quick push, Marinette made her way up to the roof whereas she expected Chat was waiting. She still didn't quite understand what he wanted, didn't he say what he needed yesterday already?

"Hey…" She uttered just loud enough for him to hear.

His ears perked up instantly at the sound of her voice, a smile plastered across his face that he was doing a poor job of hiding if he was trying that is.

"Y-you came." He sounded almost surprised but at the same time, also relieved.

"Uh… Of course, I did? You're on my roof and I don't trust you up here alone." She sounded a bit snarky at the last part and she inwardly patted herself on the back for the sass.

He gave out a small chuckle that seemed genuine then spoke, "Heh, I wouldn't trust me up alone here either… I could get into all _sorts_ of trouble."

Marinette raised her eyebrow at him, "What exactly would you be doing to get into trouble?" She couldn't hold back a stifling laugh, clearly amused.

His face flushed white and then was quickly filled with red blush, she had beaten him at his own game of teasing.

Marinette tried hard once again not to laugh but she rather enjoyed seeing her confident partner get so flustered, as sad as it may seem it made her feel a lot less insecure about herself.

"A-anyways!" He cleared his throat out and Marinette stared at him curiously.

"Hm?" She hummed.

"Uh…" He stammered, ' _Crap, I didn't think I would have to say anything… I just wanted to see her again. That would be so weird if I just said that though, I gotta come up with some excuse.'_ He thought to himself panicked.

"I er… I uh wanted to say that…" He scratched the back of his messy golden hair as he struggled to come up with the next words to say.

Marinette waited with her head still cocked to the side in curiosity of what he was about to say.

"I wanted to say… Thanks again! You know for... um, saving me! Yesterday!" He sounded so disjointed and strange in his sentence that Marinette could only furrow her brows in confusion.

"Um… ok? I thought we went through this yesterday?" She seemed unconvinced by his random topic.

"Y-yeah we did! I just wanted to say it again." He began to stutter less, thankfully. He had to roll with this topic he picked to make it seem like it was the reason he came.

"Ok, uh no problem I guess?" She shrugged, he was acting very strange, to say the least.

He seemed to let out a sigh, and Marinette was unsure if it was one of relief or stress. Was she making him uncomfortable or something?

"Is there… Something _else_ you wanted to tell me?" She pried, her blue eyes meeting his luminous green eyes for a moment.

"Er…"

 _'Damn this girl, she doesn't make this easy."_ He thought to himself a bit frustrated.

"Are you ok, Chat?" She asked, piercing his thoughts immediately.

"Huh?" His eyes widened at the remark.

"I mean… You just seem like you have a lot on your mind." She looked away shyly, not really used to being confrontational.

Chat felt a wave of relief wash over him, he was just glad he didn't have to answer to why he was _really_ here.

"

Yeah, I kinda do." He turned away looking out in the distance.

A small gust of wind bristled through his luminous gold hair and Marinette felt herself staring at his gazing figure for too long. Her eyes began trailing down from his side turned face, revealing his perfectly sculpted jawline, then going down to see his defined shoulders, and his broad chest that was pressed so tight up against his suit. Her eyes continued to wander and he continued to remain unaware of her prying eyes. It was probably only a moment but Marinette felt as if she was staring far too long.

"Er well!" She snapped herself out of her fantasy and making Chat turn towards her attentively.

"I-If you need to talk about… What exactly is on your mind, I'm here." She rubbed her arm bashfully looking at the floor.

Chat couldn't suppress a smile at those words, besides Nino and Ladybug, he had little who he could talk to. Having someone like Marinette more in his life made his heart beat a little faster than normal, he didn't know why either. Despite the obvious fact that she was _definitely_ physically attractive to him, he felt like his infatuation went deeper than that. Something about her just drew him in, and it was getting hard to find the right words to describe the feeling.

"Do you um… Want to come inside…" She utters quietly, she tended to have a habit of doing that he noticed.

"Inside? You mean like… your room?" He said with a little more elation than intended.

"Er yeah… I just figured since it's daytime, I just really don't want to get caught…"

"Ah! Right." He just nodded and looked at the trapdoor, seeming already eager to go inside. He had been in there before as Adrien a few times and he could safely say that Marinette really knew how to design.

"Wait a second!" She held out her hand before he could even move an inch closer to the trapdoor. He looked at her in confusion but hid his feelings of panic inside.

"Hm?" He tilted his head at her wide-eyed, she hated when he did that, it made him look so damn cute.

"I-I just have to clean up a few things before you go in!" She stammered quickly running to the door and pulling open the handle. Marinette had to take down her posters of Adrien, which she was planning on doing recently anyways. Realizing she had no chance with him, his face only served as a reminder of the failure of what could have been if she could actually talk to him. The main reason she needed to go down was to make sure Tikki was out of sight completely, the last thing she needed was Chat finding her and then knowing she was Ladybug. It would be so much easier if they could just reveal their identities to each other, but until Hawkmoth was defeated that just simply wasn't an option.

"Uh, alright?" Chat replied, his confused expression still plastered on his face.

Without wasting a moment Marinette burst into her room and with a hushed yet abrasive tone called out.

"Tikki! Are you here?"

"I'm right here, Marinette!" She quickly zipped into view.

Marinette sighed in relief but quickly spoke, "Tikki, Chat's going to be coming down here for a little and I just wanted to make sure you'd be well hidden."

"Yes, I should be fine, but Marinette are you sure you want to bring him into your room? That's a pretty big step…"

Marinette looked at Tikki horrified by her words, "Tikki! No! It's not like that at all! H-he just needs someone to talk to, that's _all!_ Nothing more!" She was blushing as red as a tomato as she flailed her arms around to defend herself.

Tikki could not suppress a giggle but just gave out a cheeky laugh as she hid out of view. Marinette swore that kwami was not as innocent as she appeared.

Sighing in relief once Tikki was hidden she looked around her room to see if there was anything _private_ that Chat shouldn't see, nothing really stuck out… Except for a single object.

Her last poster of Adrien still hung up near her bed. She had wanted to take it down like the others she had, but the small bit of hope that she had her chances with Adrien was dwindling every day. This last piece would symbolize the end of her pursuit, and she was terrified if it was over. So long she had been pining, hoping, that it would somehow work out with the boy, but she was just too… too… 'herself' to ever make it work.

She walked over to her bed, her eyes fixated on the poster. She felt herself get a bit teary-eyed as she placed a hand on Adrien's face.

"It's time… To move on. I never had a chance anyways." She choked out softly, and with a swift flick of her hand, the poster was out of sight.

* * *

 **(A/N): I hope the story isn't moving too slow for you guys, I know these past few chapters haven't really accomplished that much but I'm hoping things will be picking up in the near future! Thanks for reading, Until next time ^^!**


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N): What's this?! A chapter that's ACTUALLY ON TIME! BLESS UP! I DID IT GUYS I SUCCESSFULLY DID ONE UPDATE ON TIME (Ok wow thats actually pathetically sad but still). Keep up the reviews, they make me so happy!  
**

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"So um… This is my room." Marinette spread her hands out in a gesture to let his eyes scan the room. A smile melted on his face as he took in the comforting feeling the room gave off, nothing like his. The room smelled faintly of an alluring aroma, Chat wasn't sure if that was because the room was above the bakery, or because Marinette herself was just that intoxicating.

Pink was just everywhere, the walls, the floor, the furniture. He actually found it quite a pleasing color to look at. The soft colors were really gentle and had an emotionally relaxing feel to it. Just in general, Chat knew that Marinette really had an eye for decor. Not just in her room design, but herself too. He found it baffling that she could make herself look as good as she did every day.

"Hey um, you ok? You've been just standing there for like a minute." Marinette's voice brought him back to reality, as it always tended to do.

"Oh! Sorry about that Princess." He gave out a light chuckle apologetically as he bashfully smiled.

"It's alright, feel free to take a seat anywhere if you'd like." She said warmly.

Chat quickly scanned the room once more before plopping himself on the chaise, and by gods was it comfortable. He stretched out on it and instantly relaxed, his tension easing every second spent on it.

"I guess I don't have to tell you to make yourself at home." She tittered with a smile, happy that he was comfortable enough to be vulnerable around her.

Chat felt a little embarrassed but said nothing, the feeling of home all too new to him and he didn't want it to end for the world.

"If you don't mind, I gotta grab a few things downstairs but I'll be back really quick."

Chat looks at her and nods innocently and she seemed to buy it because she went down without another word. Chat knew it was wrong to snoop but he couldn't help but have his eyes wander around more vividly around the room. He noticed one thing in particular that seemed off. A blank square that looked like it held a poster of sorts, there were still tiny bits of paper that weren't completely ripped off either. Marinette must have purposefully ripped this off before he came in, and despite knowing it was wrong, curiosity got the better of him as he stood and walked over to her bed where the former poster spot lied.

Inspecting the spot it was nearly impossible to tell what exactly was there. There were only small bits of pieces still left, but it could only be assumed that it was a picture of someone. He had no idea who, or why Marinette would be so embarrassed to have to hide it. He had to know, being the nosy cat he was.

"I'm back." Her voice calls out softly, probably not to alert her parents that she had someone in her room. Closing the door behind her she had in her hands a tray and the smell coming from it was beyond mouthwatering.

Chat saw her set the tray down and walk over to where he was standing, he gulped knowing he had been caught.

"What are you looking at?" She asked in a voice that didn't sound angry, surprisingly.

Chat struggled to speak the next words as they came out in a stuttering mess, "I-er… I just couldn't help but notice _princess,"_ He said in his most kiss-up tone he could muster, "that there used to be a poster here."

"What of it?" She tilted her head innocently to the side with a face devoid of worry, although internally she was panicking she had been found out.

"I just-ah never mind. It was wrong of me to be so nosy, and just when you invited me in too… I'm sorry." He bowed his head apologetically, which earned a small smile from the bluenette.

"That's ok Chat, I wouldn't have left you up here alone if I was concerned with you snooping." That wasn't entirely true but she needed to reassure him.

Chat chuckled lightly and then nervously scratched the back of his head, looking towards the floor.

The silence was interrupted as she spoke, "The poster was of someone if you must know."

His eyes widened but thanks to his modeling skills he was able to hide his expression as she continued to speak.

"I just thought it silly to have it up, It's been there for so many years, it's time for a change."

Chat just nodded slightly, happy that he got at least some sort of an answer _and_ that he didn't get chewed out for snooping. Still, he couldn't help but wonder who was on the poster, it's obvious it was someone Marinette admired, but who could it be? He shouldn't be getting paranoid, she _did_ take it down after all, and he instantly felt foolish for getting jealous over a poster.

"I see, thanks for quenching my curiosity, Princess." He dramatically bowed.

She sighed as she walked back over to the tray that she carried up. Opening the lid the scent of warm sugary goodness filled the air. Chat's eyes were immediately drawn to the tray, and he noticed what was placed upon them. Fresh baked cookies, good lord they just smelled divine.

He watched as Marinette offered the tray in front of him, and his eyes widened in surprise. Oh how badly he wanted to take one, if not for himself then at least to please his princess' kind gesture, but as much as it pained him, he could not. His diet was just far too strict for any type of sugar or fats, and if he didn't stay on target it would be disastrous. He was already gaining far too much weight in muscle due to his secret life as Chat Noir, but nobody else knew that about him as Adrien obviously. His diet only continued to get more draconian the more frequent the Akuma attacks were, as he would be exercising more than recorded as Adrien.

"Do you want one? They were just made minutes ago." She looked up at him, she probably didn't intend to have this effect on him but something about the way her eyes twinkled at him when she spoke, just made him lose any sort of restraint he was holding.

He should say no, it would be the responsible thing to do, but his clear mouth had a mind of its own.

"Sure."

* * *

"Oh my gosh Chat, stop it!" Marinette stifled back an enormous amount of laughter at Chat's ridiculous antics. She had never actually laughed so much before, although it was strange, it was an extremely pleasant feeling that she never thought she would have occurred.

Chat was grinning ear to ear at Marinette's reaction, the whole afternoon he was trying so hard to have her open up to him more, and this laugh, just gave him exactly what he wanted. He had never seen Marinette so happy, and for some reason he just wanted to keep making her smile all the time, she was even more beautiful than he could imagine when she was laughing.

"Aha…" She sniffed as she wiped a tear from her eye, a large smile still plastered on her now rosy face from all the laughter.

"I _mew_ I could make my princess smile." He winked at her.

"Alright, you got me. I'll admit you are _kinda_ funny." She crossed her arms with a smug smile.

" _Kinda funny?!_ " He looked baffled but then quickly realized the sarcasm in her voice, he really needed to get used to that. He was about to reply with some witty comeback but a knock on the trapdoor made him freeze in place. He looked at Marinette with panicked eyes and she seemed to mirror his expression only with more terror written upon her face.

"Marinette? I heard a lot of laughing up here, what's going on? I didn't think you invited anyone over?" Sabine's sweet voice called through the door, thankfully she didn't open the trapdoor as she spoke.

"Er-uh! Nobody is here Maman! I was just talking to um… Alya! Yeah, Alya! On the phone! You know!" She was shaking frantically, internally begging that her mom would not open the door.

There was a pause for a moment but then Sabine spoke again.

"Ok then, sweetie." She said briefly before the footsteps of her leaving were audible.

Marinette sighed out a breath of relief and the tension in the room alleviated. Chat couldn't help but take advantage of the moment.

"Heh, they think you're craaazzy." He said teasingly with that smug look Marinette had earlier.

Marinette gasped and threw a pillow at him in retaliation.

"You stupid cat! If you hadn't made me laugh we wouldn't have almost been caught!"

"Sorry that my princess has _purrfectly_ loud laugh."

Marinette stood up from her chair in protest.

"I do _not!"_ She yelled a little louder than intended, but still with a playful tone behind it.

Chat just gave her a cheeky grin and snorted back at her.

"You insufferable cat!" She screeched as she grabbed a pillow off her couch and prepared to ram it into him.

Chat was quick, however, he dodged her assault as she flew past him.

"Eep!" She squealed as she braced for impact on the floor, her eyes closing shut.

In speed that he didn't know he was capable of accomplishing he grabbed Marinette by the waist before she could hit the floor. She gasped as her back rested on his hand.

Her brilliant blue eyes opened up to meet his gaze back at her. His dazzling green eyes staring right back at her. She didn't mean to stare but the way the light hit him at this angle made him look even more attractive than before if that was possible.

Chat was mesmerized, in his arms at this second was quite possibly the most beautiful woman he's known, on the inside and out and she wasn't moving away. He felt his lips part with desire as his eyes were not deterred from her for even a second.

Closer, they moved. He was so enchanted he didn't even realize he was pulling her in closer. Her face was so close to his, he could feel her gentle breath upon his cheek. She was blushing redder than a tomato at this point, and dear lord her lips were just taunting him.

He wanted so badly to lean in and seal the deal but Marinette quickly interjected before he got the chance.

"Er! Thanks for catching me." She quickly stood up and put considerable distance between the two of them.

He felt his ears droop a bit in disappointment but quickly hid it in his response.

"N-no problem, Princess." He said a bit more nervously than intended.

There was just an awkward silence for a moment before he spoke again.

"I-I better get going, y'know. I got patrol tonight and I don't want to keep Ladybug waiting…" He looked out the window a bit flustered from earlier still.

Marinette's eyes widened, ' _Crap! I forgot we have to do that today!'_

"Uh! Yeah! That's fine, I-I guess see you later then?" She stumbled, looking towards the ground, her face still covered in blush.

Chat felt his heart skip a beat, he knew it shouldn't mean much but instead of saying goodbye she said 'see you later', which means that she wanted to see him again. The smile on his face was uncannily large as he walked over to the window to exit.

"See you later, my princess." He winked before jumping out into the evening sky.

Marinette sighed as she watched him leave, what was that cat doing to her.

She must have been in a daze for a good minute before Tikki cut in.

"Marinette!"

"Huh?!" Marinette felt her eyes snap back to reality and turn towards Tikki.

"Remember? You have patrol tonight, as Ladybug." She filled in her memory as at the moment Marinette was frankly looking quite blank.

"Ah! Right! I better get ready, I can't believe I forgot."

"I believe it," Tikki muttered with a smile.

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 **(A/N): The next chapter is going to be interestinggggg!~ Well at least I hope it is :T**


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N): SPEED UPDATE! I did it for once :). Well I hope you enjoy this one, it didn't include as much information as I was going to have in it but I decided to leave some of it out and save it for later chapters, that way things seem less rushed.**

 **Thank you all so much for the reviews and kind words, that's the reason I was motivated to put this chapter out so fast, keep it up!**

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Chat bounded from rooftop to rooftop, his eyes fixed upon the beacon of Paris, The Eiffel Tower. Also the place where he and Ladybug always met to do their patrols of the city, when it was on days were they both did it together. Some days it would be Chat alone, and others it would just be her alone. He used to long for the days they would patrol together, it would give them a chance to talk, and for him to admire her. Without her knowing of course.

But for some reason, he didn't feel as… _excited._ He still loved Ladybug, at least he thought he did, but another girl has been taking up all his attention the past few days. It was uncanny, his attraction to Marinette had to be superficial, after all he couldn't possibly just give up all his pining for Ladybug just for a girl he'd only recently begin to notice.

Could he? It's not possible for someone to shift that quickly he thought to himself.

He shook off these thoughts as he extended his baton and soared through the air, launching himself at the peak of the tower which was now in view. The feeling of the crisp and chilly evening air just made him smile on the inside.

 _Freedom…_

A word he could only dream about as Adrien, but as Chat it was reality.

With a graceful thud he landed on top the metal terrace and just stood for a good moment, taking in the view. He'd been up here probably hundreds of times, but the way Paris looked from up above here was just breathtaking no matter how many times you saw it.

It was several minutes before he heard a thud behind him. He turned to see Ladybug, looking as she normally did. Except something seemed a bit off, he couldn't pinpoint what exactly but her hair looked like it was _just_ messily put into her usual pigtails. Which was uncharacteristic since she was _always_ the neat and tidy, get-down-to-business one of the duo.

"Sorry I'm late, Chaton." She huffed, clearly out of breath for some reason. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"No worries M'lady, I'm late _fuurrr_ more than you ever are."

She rolled her eyes and leaned against the railing of the tower her head tilted to the side, admiring the view of the city.

"So! Anything new happen to you today, M'lady?" Chat asked breaking the silence.

She turned to face him, her expression unreadable.

"Uh… Yeah! I had a nice talk with a good friend." She replied in a casual tone.

Chat's curiosity led him to continue, "Good friend? That sounds nice." He ended before prying more, which earned a look of surprise from Ladybug. It was as if she was expecting him to ask more about this ' _friend_ ' of hers.

"So what about you Chaton? What have you been up to lately?" She asked innocently, trying to make it seem less suspicious.

Chat's eyes widened and then he turned away, a clear blush filling his cheeks. Ladybug did not know what to make of this, but before she could ponder he spoke again.  
"I uh… I also made a friend, someone I've actually known a while but never got the chance to really know until recently." He seemed nervous in his speech.

Now it was Ladybug's turn to be curious, that was vaguely suspicious to their situation.

"Oh! Er… I'm sure it was… nice? You know, to talk again."

"It was better than nice." He looked outwards towards the setting sun, sighing longingly. "It was just…" He seemed to be struggling to find the words, "Everything you could want in a person, and more." He looked at his hands and drifted off. Clearly imagining some scenario Ladybug could not depict.

She felt a strange tinge of jealousy, although she used to pay no heed to Chat's obvious infatuation with her as Ladybug, now that it looked like he was moving on from her made her feel like she was losing something. She quickly brushed off these thoughts, ' _I don't own him, he's free to… be with whoever he wants.'_

The thought never even crossed her mind that he may have been talking about her, well her civilian self. Ladybug may be confident on the outside but her diffident interior blinded her to the fact that Chat Noir was completely and utterly infatuated with her civilian self.

"Oh, they sound like they are a very special person to you." She replied softly, trying hard to hide any sort of emotion that could be taken the wrong way.

Chat tightened his hands into fists and looked up calmly. "Yes, she is." He mumbled.

Ladybug's fears were realized, it was a _girl._ A girl, that had stolen Chat's heart. She knew this day would come eventually, she kept brushing him off after all, it's not like she gave him any signs that she _liked_ him.

Come to think of it, she didn't even realize that she _did_ like him in that way. Or at least she was starting to. She had no idea why it was happening all of a sudden too, and so fast.

"Well!" Her voice suddenly broke the silence, he turned alert and looked at her.

"We uh, better get moving y'know! Don't want it to get too late before we start patrol!"

Chat blankly nods, uncharacteristically quiet.

The entire patrol was eerily silent as well, and Ladybug began to feel tense. What exactly was happening? Their patrols were always filled with at least _some_ casual banter, or at least Chat trying to initiate some type of flirting or something. This time, however, there was just nothing. Just silence during the entire patrol. Ladybug couldn't bring up the courage to even start a conversation. Chat looked so deep in thought that she did not want to even dare to interrupt his thoughts once more.

She wondered what he could be thinking about so intently, he's never done anything like this before, to her knowledge.

Being the empathetic soul that she was, she was going to get to the bottom of this.

She had waited until their round of the city was over and they had landed on some buildings rooftop, as they normally would.  
This would usually be the time when Chat would say something witty or attempt to give her a flirty compliment of sorts, but he just stood there. Standing, his back turned towards her as he just stared out aimlessly at the city.

 _'What on earth is he thinking about?'_ She asked herself, filled with concern for her friend.

"Chat?" She called out hesitantly to him.

"Hm?" He finally turned his head sideways a bit so that she could at least see part of his face, but he seemed to be avoiding making full eye contact. Which was strange, as he normally would put in substantial amounts of effort to always look her in the eye.

Before she really thought nothing of it, she assumed that's what he did with all the girls he no doubt flirted with. Or she thought that's what he did anyway, he seemed like such the flirty type. She had first-hand experience with that as Marinette, and if he flirted with someone like _her_ … No doubt he had to be doing it to every other girl in Paris.

She wasn't special enough for any kind of 'special treatment', that's what she kept telling herself.

"Are you… Doing ok?"

Chat's ears perked up and he tilted his head to the side, the sunset just radiating from behind his head. Making his already golden hair just dazzle even more in the light.

 _'Merde! Why does he have to be so cute!'_ Ladybug thought to herself, now avoiding any sort of eye contact with the boy.

"Why do you ask?" He asked in a curious tone, it didn't sound annoyed but rather filled with genuine curiosity. Could it be he didn't realize he has spaced out the entire patrol?

"Er just, you seemed a bit," She hesitated to say the next words, " _distracted_ , during patrol is all."

His eyes seemed to dilate for an instant but then quickly died back down to their natural green haze. His eyebrows raised up and his face expression filled with that of surprise.

"Oh! Ehe… Sorry about that." He laughed nervously.

He was hiding something, that was clear at least. Ladybug, however, was not about to pry him for answers.

At least not right this instant.

"It's fine, just worried is all." She said with extempore, her hand resting on her hip.

"I thank you for your concern, M'lady." He bowed gently, but not as dramatically as he normally would.

The silence in the air was ended when Chat spoke, rising from his bow.

"I gotta get going, it's getting late…"

Ladybug hid her surprise well but was still perplexed nonetheless. It was so unlike Chat to willingly leave patrol first, it was almost _always_ her that had to be the one to say it was time to go home.

"Oh, ok." She just nodded, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. She heard the sound of his baton expanding and he was off before she could even look up.

She felt her face harden into a frown of sorts but she stopped herself from these feelings before they settled.

 _'I shouldn't overthink this, he's probably just busy.'_

As must as she tried to repeat that thought to herself, her mind began going rampant with random scenarios. She began to panic that he was angry at her, for being late for the akuma attack yesterday. Of course, that wasn't really her fault but he didn't know that. He couldn't be angry at her for that, could he? She tried doing everything she could to help him, even if it was as her civilian form.

She sighed, that must be it. He must be disappointed with her tardiness and doesn't want to say it. She clenched her fists together with a face of determination written upon her.

She was going to make it up to him, she was going to be the friend he deserved, on both sides of her.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N): Another on time update! Woot! Not much story wise but a good character development kinda chapter I think? Things are going to pick up soon! Stay tuned!**

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The next morning was rough for Marinette, to say the least. After patrolling with Chat last night she went back home and just plopped herself in bed.

Now she was on her way to school in her usual fashion, late. She didn't really have time to dress up nicely today so she came in with a simple tee and jeans, her hair down but frizzled a bit messily. She probably didn't look so appealing bursting into the classroom with a half-eaten croissant coming out her pocket from not finishing breakfast and such simple attire.

The teacher, who was beyond used to Marinette's late schedule just motioned for her to sit down, and nobody in the class really paid much heed as they expected it. Except for Chloe, who just jeered at Marinette and then scoffed once she passed by her to get to her seat.

"Pssh, what does she think she's doing coming in looking like _that,"_ Chloe whispered bitterly to Sabrina, which just caused the petite redhead to shrug innocently.

Marinette rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Alya. Since Lila wasn't in her class she really only had Alya as a defense against Chloe, but at the moment the teacher was glaring right at them so she couldn't really do anything.

"Hey, gurl, late again as usual," Alya whispered to Marinette as she began unpacking her things from her backpack.

"I-I… Yeah, I guess it is usual." Marinette couldn't help but smile at her tardiness, it really was a talent.

"You started to scare me yesterday, being early for once and all, it wasn't very Mari-like at all." She continued whispering and Marinette gave her a playful nudge and stifled a laugh.

"Oh shut up! I can _so_ be early if I want to." She replied back with a tone of amusement and sarcasm.

"Mhm, sure gurl." Alya hummed softly as she began taking notes, ignoring the faces of annoyance Marinette was making, once again losing to Alya in a battle of playful sass.

"Yo! Adrien!" A brash voice beckons Adrien out of his gaze on a certain bluenette.

"Huh?!" He jumps at the sudden sound and turns forward to face his best friend, Nino.

Nino gives out a small chuckle before patting him gently on the shoulder.

"Class just ended, were you even paying attention today?" He said in that casual tone he always carried.

Adrien was shocked at himself, ' _did I really just… stare at Marinette the entire class?! I hope nobody else noticed!'_

"Uh… Yeah! I was paying great, I-I mean full attention! Or whatever…" He fumbled.

"Haha, sure whatever dude." Nino laughed and motioned for him to stand.

Adrien wanted to glance back one more time at Marinette who he assumed would be packing up last as she usually did. He never realized all the little details and adorable quirks she carried out through the day. He wanted to see more of them…

' _Ok wow, I am starting to get stalker-ish.'_

"Adrikiiiins~" Another voice beckons him out of his thoughts, this time, however, the voice was belonging to someone who was starting to get on his nerves.

"Oh, hey Chloe." He said with probably the most unenthusiastic tone he could even muster, and it wasn't even intentional.

Chloe ignored this and continued, "Oh, Adrikins! Today has been just awful! I simply must tell you _all_ about it." She put her hand up to her head dramatically and was pretended that she was feigning. Adrien was beyond used to her melodramatic antics and just grinned and bore it as he usually did.

"Uh…" Before he could even come up with an excuse she began rambling on about her day which was somehow even more boring than usual. Adrien was clearly not paying any attention to her, he found his eyes drifting past Chloe and onto Marinette once again.

He began smiling so wide when he met her eye and she gave him a small wave, with a small, but evident smile on her face. The effect that girl had on him at this point was just ridiculous.

"Ugh! Who are you staring at?!" Chloe finally wrenched her way into his thoughts once again, making him peel his eyes off Marinette, and focused in on the incessant blonde before him.

"I er…" He stuttered, not really knowing what to say in fear. He turned his head to look for Nino but he was nowhere to be found.

' _He must have left while I was distracted! Damn him! I really could use his help right about now!'_

"Oh don't tell me…" Chloe gasped dramatically and Adrien tensed up in fear of being found out.

"You're staring at Marinette because of her _hideous_ attire today, right?" She grinned maliciously, staring him dead in the eyes.

"I-what?"

"It's ok Adrikins, I totally get it. What did she honestly think coming to school looking even worse than usual would get her attention or something?" She scoffed, oblivious to the irony of what she just said.

"I-that's not it at all!" He suddenly spoke up louder than intended, capturing the attention of Chloe, well, more than usual.

"What." She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at his outburst.

"Marinette always looks amazing even when she's not even trying!" He glanced quickly at her and she seemed to be listening in on the conversation because her hand was next to her heart and her face was a full shade of red.

"What did you eat today Adrikins? Are you feeling well? You're acting delusional!" Chloe put her arm up against his forehead in a way of 'measuring' the heat, which there was none.

Adrien batted her arm away and stormed off out of the class, not seeing the gasps from both Chloe and Marinette simultaneously in surprise.

* * *

"Girl! I can't believe I just witnessed that!" Alya whispered in a hushed tone to Marinette as they walked out of the door of the class.

"Witnessed what?" Lila's voice chimed in. She apparently was waiting outside the classroom for them which was odd as she usually waited outside.

"Just the most adorable and most romantic thing ever!" Alya squealed earning a puzzled look from Lila and Marinette turned her face away from the two, not wanting to take part in the conversation.

"Wha-" Lila was interrupted by almost a brash yell by Alya.

"Adrien just stood up for our girl! When that evil blonde bitch was putting her down!"

' _Ugh Adrien,'_ Lila thought in disgust but put on a positive front.

"Well that's great, I know Marinette has a-" She almost puked out the next words, " _thing,_ or something for him."

Marinette turned to face them now, her expression unreadable.

"I don't know…" She uttered, making both Lila and Alya stare at her in confusion.

"You don't know what?" Alya questioned, but Marinette just shook her head and began walking.

Alya turned to Lila and shrugged and they followed her out.

* * *

Adrien immediately went home after that whole fiasco at school, he was honestly too embarrassed to stay there any longer. He honestly felt bad about being so 'harsh' with Chloe but he couldn't stand by idly while he insulted his Princess.

Wait did he just say _his_ Princess.

The thought alone was enough to give him an uncannily huge smile, but it wasn't for long.

"Ah, Adrien." A stern voice echoes through his eardrums. He turns to see his father's assistant Nathalie standing in her usual professional stance.

He didn't answer, for he knew as soon as formalities were out of the way he would be handed his daily schedule that just literally sucked the life out him. Nathalie didn't seem to care much for the pleasantries anyways.

"Here is your schedule for today." She says emotionless as she hands him a printed sheet of paper and walks off briskly.

He sighs as he clutches the paper in his hands, and makes his way up to his room. Flopping himself on the bed and resting for the short few minutes he had to spare. An evident stressful frown upon him.

His thoughts began to wander back towards Marinette, maybe he would go see her again today. That thought made him smile and brought him up and ready to finish his horrendously long schedule.

"Oh no, you don't kid." Plagg's voice cuts through as the black cat kwami yawns and floats up near his face.

"Don't what?"

"I know that look on your face, please tell me you aren't planning on going to see that designer girl _again."_ He mumbled.

Adrien was shocked but kept a straight face, "Uh, yes! I was planning on seeing her again, is that so wrong?"

Plagg groaned and flopped onto the bed next to Adrien, the faint smell of cheese still lingering on him.

"You owe me a hella lot of cheese."

Adrien just cracked a small smile and drifted off into a short nap.


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N): Sorry for missing last week! I was ridiculously busy with life things and hadn't much time or inspiration to write. I'm back now though, hopefully! Hope you enjoy this chapter, I've decided to cut it quite a bit shorter because I think it's better to split things up so I can focus on them in more detail. As always, thank you so so much for the reviews, I know I may not be that responsive but believe me I do read them and they bring me ridiculous amounts of joy. So please keep that up!  
**

* * *

It had been an entire week of back to back visits every day from Chat Noir, and as much as she hated to admit it, Marinette was growing accustomed to his friendship. She never truly saw the more emotional and sensitive part of him that he sometimes showed a sliver of with his time in her civilian form. Of course, it was layered with nonsensical flirting which she brushed off as nothing, in both forms. He would occasionally pop a joke out with Ladybug but she noticed he was visibly flirting less with her superheroine form. She didn't know why this made her feel… anxious.

A noise of footsteps approached from behind her as she played forward on the railing of the balcony, immediately assuming it was Chat she spoke.

"Hey, Cha-Alya!" She gasped, "Alya, and Lila! H-hi!" She immediately stuttered on her words upon realizing it was her two civilian and female friends. She completely spaced out that she said they could hang out today after basically 'forbidding' them to come over thanks to her visits with Chat. It would be a nightmare if they found out about her civilian friendship with him. He only came to visit during the sunset hours so she figured that spending the afternoon with her friends was a safe bet, it was the weekend after all so she had the entire day off.

"Hey girl!" Alya waved as she and Lila ceremoniously stepped into her room without much consent, not that she really minded.

Lila did a curt wave before they settled into their usual spots in her room.

"So how's everything been with you Mari? It's been a while since we all like… hung out." Alya started the conversation directly. Marinette opened her mouth to reply but the words were too quickly filled by Lila.

"Yeah, is everything alright? You've been acting a bit distant."

"I-uh… Yeah, everything is ok! I'm sorry I haven't made much time for you guys, I've just had a lot on my mind is all." She looked down at her lap as her hair draped over her face.

Lila offered a reassuring smile, "I totally get it, with that whole Akuma stunt you pulled last week I'm sure you've had your fair share of the spotlight."

Marinette inwardly sighed, she tried not to make a scene but the unnecessary attention from the save she did last week was taking its toll on her. Every day this past week interviewers from all over Paris had been trying to barge in the bakery in hopes of getting an interview with her. Fortunately, her parents were very skilled at blocking them off and she only was forced to speak a few words when she unluckily got caught on the way to school by an eager journalist.

However, that really was not what was on her mind at all, what was on her mind she wasn't entirely sure what it was.

"Girl! Did you take down those posters of Adrien or something? Your walls are completely clear!" Alya suddenly gasped in surprise and was standing near her bed where the last poster she took down last week had hung.

"Oh um… Yeah, I guess I did." She shrugged looking up innocently.

"Girllll! You were so into him! What's been going on with you?!"

Lila suddenly clapped and had a large approving smile on her face, "Well I think it's just wonderful Marinette had wisened up about this whole ordeal!"  
Marinette didn't know what came over her but she felt the words flow from her mouth too quickly to take back, "I-I don't think I'm over him…" Lila and Alya turned to face her, now standing from her spot.

She tensed her fists and exhaled a sigh, "But I… I-I want to be…"

The two friends exchanged a glance before Marinette continued, "It's not like I stood a chance anyway, it was…" She gulped looking at the floor, avoiding any sort of eye contact with her friends, "It was foolish, to think I was even in the same league as him."

A silence filled the room before Alda's booming voice exploded the emptiness.

"That has got to be the most stupid thing I've ever heard come out of your mouth, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Alya yelled curtly, making both Lila and Marinette look at her in shock.

"Alya!" Lila gasped, but she was drowned out as Alya continued.

"How can you think that little of yourself Marinette?! You are an _amazing_ person, and you shouldn't think of yourself as someone who isn't!" Alya unleashed her frustration, making Marinette shiver in silence.

"If Adrien couldn't see that this whole time then I think it's a good thing you are wanting to move on." Her tone dropped slightly as Alya began to calm down, nothing but empathy for her friend was expressed.

Marinette stood unable to process words to reply back but words weren't needed as Alya came up and hugged her. A tight embrace, one filled with compassion and just symbolized the deep and true friendship they both shared.

"I'm sorry Alya…" Marinette whispered, fighting back any sort of tears from her eyes.

Alya pulled back gently from the hug and looked her in the eyes, "Don't be, I just got a little… carried away again is all." She seemed to be regretting her outburst.

"It's ok, I think I needed some tough love." She cracked a small smile.

"I've got more where that came from gurl!" Alya playfully patted her on the shoulder and let go of the embrace.

"Well!" Lila cleared her throat out, realizing she was standing awkwardly in the corner.

"If Marinette wants to move on, I say we help her do just that!" Lila smiled beamingly, happy that her friend no longer was pining after the boy she so despised.

"You're right Lila, but remember this is Mari we are talking about, she's been on this boy for god knows how long! It's gonna take her a while to accept that fact alone." Alya continued.

"Y-you guys!" Marinette blushed.

"It's true girl, don't deny it!" Alya grinned.

"Not that I'm complaining or anything, but if you don't mind me asking Mari, what exactly caused this sudden change? It's not like you to shift so quickly." Lila spoke her thoughts aloud, being the perceptive person she was. Although she probably let on a little too much more than she wanted to reel out.

Marinette paused, she was not entirely sure of the answer herself.

"I uh… I'm not sure…" She mumbled.

Lila closed her eyes for a moment and thought then spoke again, "Ah, whatever the cause of it doesn't really matter, I'm just glad you decided it was time for a change." She said casually, sinking herself back into the chair in which she sat.

There was a small moment of silence before Alya broke the silence, as she had a habit of doing so.

"Soooo, who's the new boy then?"

"Wha-What?!" Marinette turned beet red and gasped.

"Oh c'mon, I _totally_ know that the reason you're giving up on Agreste is because of someone new, so _spill!_ ' Alya grinned maliciously at her friend who was trembling at this point.

"A-Alya you've got it wrong! There is nobody else! I-I-I I just thought it was t-time for a change is all!" Marinette inwardly facepalmed, she wasn't making herself look 'innocent'.

"Mhm…" Alya continued to grin, even going as far as pulling out her small notebook that she kept with her and began jotting down something.

"Alya?! What are you doing?" Marinette felt the feeling of her blushing face beating against her being, making it difficult to focus.

"Oh nothingggg.~" Alya sang in a sickeningly sweet tone.

"Oh c'mon Alya, if she really says she wants to move on and it's not because of some other guy, we should believe her," Lila interjected diplomatically.

"Aha! But that's where you are wrong, Lila." Alya tapped her pencil against her notepad, her grin still plastered on her face. "Call it 'journalist intuition', but I know for a fact that Marinette is crushing on someone else now, I just gotta find out who!" With that, she bolted out of the room.

"Hey, get back here! You're acting crazy again!…" Lila's voice trailed off as she followed in pursuit of Alya, leaving Marinette standing alone in her room, still flustered.

 _'C-crush? Who does Alya think she is, assuming things! I wanted to get over Adrien for myself, not because of some new guy or whatever!'_ Marinette thought to herself a little peeved at Alya's hasty actions. Although she should have expected this, it certainly didn't make it any less annoying.

"Are they gone?" She heard a faint whisper from behind, and immediately she turned to face her leather cladded partner. Her face still stained with red blush, not showing any signs of changing.

"C-Chat?! Wha- How did you get in here?!"

He flashed a toothy grin and casually pointed up to the trapdoor, "May wanna lock that next time."

Marinette was displeased, to say the least, "Ugh! What is with everyone just invading my personal space today!" She vexed in frustration.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down Princess," He put his hand on her shoulder which was incredibly tensed up, "I'm sorry I just barged in here unannounced…" He made sure he was making eye contact with her to show how sincere he was being.

Marinette's face softened a little but she still wasn't satisfied, "Go on." She mumbled.

Chat was surprised, but not unhappy to say the least. "I-I promise I'll make it up to you!"

Marinette tried to suppress her oncoming smile as best she could but it was to no avail. "You damn well better!" She said jokingly, punching his shoulder gently.

"Well… How bout right now…" He still maintained that charming smile, it was annoying how perfect it was.

"What?" She said almost startled at the notion.

"It's not too late to go out, a-and I got someplace I've been wanting to show you." He looked bashful and his tone certainly didn't help him appear less nervous.

"I-I mean that is if you'll let me take you, Princess."

Marinette stood there blankly for a moment, logically she should say no. Going out in public as a civilian with Chat Noir, that just reeked of trouble. Getting more unnecessary publicity would be a catastrophe, but then again…

She turned to look up at Chat, their eyes meeting once again briefly as he just stood there patiently awaiting her answer.

No, she was going to tell him no, it was too risky and she can't afford being caught.

"I'd love to go."


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N): Still here! Trying to keep to that updating schedule somewhat but somewhat failing? Anyways, hope you enjoy, was going to make this a lot longer but once again decided to save some more content for later, stay tuned!  
**

* * *

A typical Friday night for Marinette usually consisted of a night at home, her face buried in her sketchbook, studiously sketching her latest design idea.

This Friday night, however, was completely different.

The chilled wind blasted in her face and made an absolute mess of her earlier neatly made up hair.

"Aaah!" She squealed as she gripped onto Chat's back a bit tighter. Why had she agreed to go out with him in the first place! This wasn't her intent at all, she was just supposed to say no and be done with it. But of course her mouth got the better of her and she was immediately whisked onto the back of her leash cladded partner without much other say.

Upon hearing her scream, Chat landed on a nearby roof and set her down quickly. They were near the edge of Paris now, so whatever he had in store for her must be outside city limits, odd.

"Are you okay?!" Chat's concerned voice beckons her eyes to meet his. Her face has flushed a shade of red likely from the cold as she gave a small shiver.

"I should be fine… It was just a little scary on your back is all." Immediately she stumbled, "I-I mean, it's not like your back isn't not safe! It's just that I… erg…" She vexed in frustration at her ability to form a coherent sentence.

Chat's nervous face turned into more of a playful smile, "I get it, you probably have never been up so high before and all, I should have known."

Marinette puffed her cheek out in annoyance, "It wasn't the _height_ that scared me."

Chat moved in a bit closer, the heat radiating from his body making her want to move in and get up even closer but she stopped herself.

"Then what _are_ you scared of, Princess?" He murmured in that seductive husky voice, damn him.

"I don't…um…"

Chat's smug looking face made Marinette want to slug him so hard, he was enjoying watching her suffer wasn't he?

"Hmph! Whatever, just take me home." She pouted, looking away from him.

"Aw C'mon Princess, we're so close already!" From the corner of her eyes, she could see his tail was swishing back and forth in amusement.

"I _purrrromise_ you'll love it."

She turned to him with her eyebrows furrowed, "Ugh! Fine, just don't make any more puns!"

He snickered as she began walking around behind him, preparing to climb on his back once again.

"Hold on." He turned so that he was now frontally facing her, making her eyes widen in surprise.

"Chat? What are yo- Hey! Wha-!" She squealed as Chat picked her up bridal style and pulled her in close so that she was literally pressed up against his firm chest.

"This way I can hold onto you better, you'll feel a lot more secure I bet too." He looked down at her and winked, giving her a toothy grin at the same time.

She tried so hard to hide her upcoming blush but it was a failure, her face was dusted in a light shade of pink and she looked away as best as she could from his eyes that just seemed to dazzle in the sunset.

Damn him, he had won this round.

Nothing further was said as Chat leaped off, clearly satisfied with himself as he began humming softly to himself.

He was right about one thing though, she did feel a heck of a lot more secure now. He was gripping her firmly in his arms but not so tight that it hurt. She felt safe, that was certain.

Even though she had dealt with this kind of height often as Ladybug, never before had she been up this high as Marinette, it was certainly frightening but for some reason, being in Chat's arms made it less so.

As the wind began blasting upon her face again she turned her face to the side and began absentmindedly staring at Chat's arms. She hated to admit it but Chat's body was extremely attractive, his arms flexed ever so slightly at the slightest movement she gave. His chest was so broad and so well structured, it certainly didn't help that his entire body was basically pushing up against the skin-tight leather to make everything about it just appear more desirable.

She wanted to slap herself silly when she began to imagine him… With his suit off.

* * *

"We're here!" Chat's voice suddenly awoke her out of her half-dazed state. Truth be told, the slight rocking of being held by Chat was almost making her fall into a bit of a slumber.

She felt herself being gently set down, and a part of her felt a little upset when it happened for some reason.

But then she felt her eyes move upward, and she was met with a view that made her gasp aloud.

Before her, was quite possibly the most beautiful garden she had ever had the pleasure of laying her eyes on.

The now moonlit sky just radiated it's brilliant luminous glow and made the small creek in the middle of the florid and vivacious grass just dazzle. Flowers of every color imaginable surged the entity of the entire grove and Marinette was finding it difficult to find any words to describe it's overall radiance.

"Chat… This place is beautiful…" She mummers, her lips slightly parted.

Chat stared at Marinette for a good while as she kept taking in the view, call it his 'excuse' to look at her, but the beauty of the garden was nowhere near as infatuating as Marinette.

"I'm glad you like it…I thought since you're into art and designing and such that uh… Maybe you could get inspiration from this place."

Marinette turned to him and smiled warmly, his heart just filling with butterflies as she did. He had never actually seen her smile like _this_ before, and he would do anything to make sure she never stopped.

"I love it, thank you so much for taking me here."

"I-It was no problem! I come here all the time to think and such." He casually batted his hand, trying not to seem as phased as he was by her illustrious smile.

There was a pause of silence before he continued, "Uh! You can um… Walk around and stuff if you want." He motioned at her, seeing as they were just standing in the same spot quite strangely.

"Ah! Uh right." She stammered as she began to drift around the quaint area.

Curiously she knelt down and began to sniff one of the flowers, it was a large pink rose, and it just smelled divine.

"Did you plant all these yourself?" She asked as she began to lay down in the sea of flowers.

"Er… Yeah… It kinda makes me happy." She continued staring at him, waiting for him to continue, "Y'know it's nice," He said as he began to lay beside her. "To uh… To know that you can have an impact on things, even if nobody sees it."

She paused for a moment and looked at Chat, his head was facing upwards looking at the sky.

"Well, I am seeing it now."

She couldn't hide the foreboding blush as Chat turned his head to face hers. Their faces just inches away.

Chat could smell the faint smell of strawberries emanating off of Marinette, just pure _sweetness_ that even made the flowers floral scent not as appealing. He felt a _strong_ urge from his lips to press them against hers. They were so full… So plump and glossy, he wanted to claim them as his.

Before he could get a chance to act on his urges she turned her head away obliviously and exhaled as she began to stare upwards.

"Marinette…" He whispered, getting her attention quite quickly as he never actually says her name.

"Hm?" She turned to him, her bluebell eyes just piercing his entire being. Her hair was spilled out onto the side to make it look like a waterfall cascading her perfectly sculpted face.

 _'Gods she is beautiful.'_ He thought to himself, struggling to come up with the next words.

"I…"

She stared intently at him, and he found it impossible to say what was on his mind exactly.

"Er… We should probably head back, It's getting late and I don't want to keep you too long." He began to sit and, a bit flustered which greatly confused Marinette.

"Oh! Um… Ok." She tried to mask her disappointment in her tone but it wasn't hidden well.

"We can come back some other time, I promise." He smiled at her, making her smile back.

"I'll hold you to it, kitty."


	12. Chapter 12

**(A/N): I just want to say a huge sorrryyyy for being so late on this update. It was a number of things really, one I was out of the country most of the winter holidays and although there were moments I could have been working on this I was slacking off and trying to just relax, but I felt horrible not giving out anything for so long so I managed to push a bit of motivation over the course of this period of time to get at least SOMETHING together. This chapter was originally planned to be much longer but I decided to just cut it shorter so that at least you all get something to read after so long. Another amazing patch of reviews from the last chapter, seriously I was so grateful for all of your input, even if I don't directly respond, I do see all the reviews and always appreciate anything you can give :). Well hopefully next chapter won't be as long a wait, but no promises! I've got a lot of exciting/stressful things upcoming in my life soon so I'll just have to play it by ear.  
**

* * *

"So M'lady, how have you been recently?" Chat's voice pierced the silence that had been awkwardly plaguing the duo for weeks on end now.

Ladybug looked back at him as she landed gracefully with a quick tug from her yo-yo onto the nearest roof. Patrol was almost over for today anyway, so she supposed she was down for a little _chat_.

Oh lords, did she just make a pun?!

"I've been as well as I can be…" She hesitated to ask about him, for what he may say in response. "How have you been?" She gulped in suspense.

"I've been just wonderful, thanks for asking." He instantly gained a smile that made Ladybug suspicious.

"I don-" "Well since you're asking why I may as well tell you." She was cut-off by Chat's eager demeanor. She wanted to internally facepalm, no doubt he was going to talk about _that girl_ again. The one who he clearly is infatuated with, who he was meant to be with, someone who could give him the attention he deserves.

Someone that isn't her.

"That girl I've been telling you about, man I wish you could meet her, you'd love her," Ladybug rolled her eyes but made sure Chat didn't see. "But seriously she's so ridiculously talented in everything I'm jus-"

"Ok ok Chat, I get it." Ladybug laughed as she bopped him on the nose playfully, "I can tell when you like something because you just _stop_ talking about them." She was trying to sound playful about it, like the fact that he was talking about another girl in front of her didn't bother her.

But it sure as _hell_ bothered her.

"L-like? Well, of course, I like her! I just don't know if…" He trailed off, and Ladybug was eager for his response, maybe he didn't like her like _that_ and she was in over her head. She had to know, although she didn't know why she was so obsessed with knowing, it's not like she liked Chat _that_ way, right?

"Don't know if what?"

"If-" He was abruptly cut off by the sound of an explosion in the distance. The duo instantly knew what that meant, an akuma attack.

However, Ladybug, or rather Marinette was desperate for Chat to finish his answer. The timing of this akuma could probably not have been worse for her.

"C'mon M'lady, let's go check it out!" He looked back at her with a playful grin as he usually did. Outstretching his baton he catapulted himself towards the now smoky debris' area.

Ladybug took a moment to take in what was happening. Several good things just happened at once. For one he was actually looking her in the eye and talking to her like a friend once again. Secondly he called her _M'lady_ again. She didn't know why it made her giddy inside but the fact that he hadn't abandoned hope on her made her… ridiculously happy for some odd reason. She knew she shouldn't think anything of it, Chat was such a flirt and besides, without proper clarification it's best to assume he likes this _new_ girl far more than he could ever possibly like her.

With that in mind, she puffed out her cheek and swung her yo-yo to catch up with Chat.

"Bwahaha! Kneel before me, you worthless peasants! For I am 'True Reine'!" Screamed a high pitched child-like voice, drawing the attention of Ladybug and Chat Noir from a good distance away.

"Ugh, _another_ child Akuma? Does Hawkmoth seriously never learn?" Chat pouted, annoyed.

Ladybug smiled and patted him on the back gently, "There there, mon minou. We should count ourselves lucky, they usually go down faster."

"I know, I know." He looked back and smiled lightly at her, he seemed almost anxious, but why?

With tremendous speed, they both launched themselves onto the scene. Once there, their attention was instantly drawn to the several civilians who were suspended mid-air by some sort of gravitational force.

Ladybug quickly glanced up at the akuma who apparently went by the name of True Reine and with rapid analyzing concluded that the alumna must be in its scepter.

"Chat!" Ladybug called out to her partner, but he turned back and looked at her with assurance.

"I'm on it." He replied, already understanding what her plan was in an instant. The chemistry between them at this point was unreal, they could reach each other's movements instantly and were so in synch.

Well, they _were_ in synch.

As they were about to carry out their plan, from the corner of Ladybug's eye, she saw none other than her friend Lila in suspension. She wondered how Lila ended up in such a predicament and was immediately concerned for her friend.

Caught off guard for just a moment, it left her wide open to the akuma.

Within what felt like an instant, the suspended Lila was hurled right at her and they were both sent flying into an office building.

She thought she heard Chat call out her name, or the faint laughs of theakuma as she crashed through what felt like glass, but she wasn't sure. Her vision slowly began fading to black.

* * *

"Marinette! Marinette, wake up!" A voice began pulling her out of the darkness that plagued her vision.

"Urg… What…?" Marinette sat up, her head a little fuzzy from the landing.

"Oh my gosh, so it _is_ you." Lila's voice made Marinette freeze in both shock and horror, did she just figure out she was Ladybug? Come to think of it, why _wasn't_ she Ladybug right now?!

"Lila! I-I can explain!" Marinette stood up, her eyes widened in panic.

Lila looked at her, surprisingly… not surprised?

"Explain what? Super weird that the akuma threw me in here and I woke up next to you. How coincidental really." She tilted her head to the side in a curious manner.

Marinette inwardly sighed out in relief, she didn't put the pieces to together thankfully.

"I thought I saw that _bug_ before I blacked out, but I'm not really sure." Lila's face outwardly mirrored disgust as she said bug, her hatred for Ladybug was truly unparalleled.

"Oh! Uh… Maybe she already is back in the fight or something!" Marinette tried to play it off quickly.

"Wherever she is, as long as she's away from me, everything is great." Lila smiled at Marinette, painfully unaware of the irony.

"Aha… Yeah…" Marinette squeaked, looking at the floor. She always knew Lila disliked her Ladybug persona, but she didn't know it was _this_ severe.

There was a moment of silence before Marinette spoke up, suddenly realizing that Chat was probably off fighting that akuma alone. The thought alone was making her anxious.

"W-well we better get out of here, no point in standing around!"

Lila looked at her, inspecting with her finger placed delicately on her lip as she did.

"Are you sure about that? You've got a _really_ bad cut on your leg." Lila motioned her eyes down to Marinette's legs. Her eyes widened as she noticed the blood had stained through her white jeans that she was wearing in her civilian form. She was frankly surprised she was even standing up and about with a wound that size, and how did she not even feel _pain?!_

"Oh my gosh!" Marinette could not suppress a startling squeal of terror as her eyes dilated to an unusually large size.

"It must have been the glass from the window, you must have taken most of the blow, unfortunately." Lila empathized, her face scrunched up and a look of worry slightly enamored her face.

A part of Marinette wanted to just freak out as she normally would, but for some reason, she felt an _urgent_ need to go and help Chat, despite her own injuries.

"I think it's best if you just wait here, I'm sure when that bug and Chat Noir finish up the akuma your leg will be alright, heck I'll even wait here with you." Lila offered a smile and began to guide Marinette to the wall so that she could rest up a bit.

While Marinette was grateful for the task, now it was going to be even more difficult to shake Lila and get back into the fight.

"Be careful Chat…" She mumbled, as she desperately bit her lip to try and get out of this situation.


	13. Chapter 13

**(A/N): Okfirst of all I would like to apologize for this abnormally longabscence. I've been going through some personal issues and I didn't have any motivation to write or do anything really. Things have been getting better but I'm trying to sort thing out with myself piece by piece so please bear with me on the short updates. The kind comments I get on the reviews really make my day and are whatare pushing me to continue this, so please keep it up! I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed, I was really eager to start posting again that I may have decreased the writing quality for this chapter a bit! I'm really gonna work at it to make next chapter better, hopefully much sooner too! I don't want to keep everyone waiting as long as I did for this huge gap!**

* * *

Chat dodged person after person being flung at him by the akuma. Wincing overtime one of their bodies hit the floor painfully. He knew Ladybug's magic would solve it all, but it still pained him to see civilians get hurt so badly as they are.

He had only hoped Ladybug was ok, it was impossible for him to check on her with this akuma targeting him constantly.

"Quit moving you stupid cat!" The akuma screamed as it flung another floating body towards Chat.

Quickly dodging Chat avoided a barrage of bodies for a good while, all while hearing incessant insults from the bratty akuma.

"If you ran like your mouth, you'd probably be in better shape!" Chat grinned, taunting the akuma. Earning another loud scream and another wave of people sent flying at him.

Probably not his best idea, as it just ended up injuring more people.

This whole ordeal continued on for a while and still no sign of Ladybug anywhere. He was starting to get a bit tired out, and it's not like he could really do anything by himself.

Using cataclysm on a human would be straight up murder and would accomplish nothing. He couldn't reach the akuma who was levitating high up in the sky without getting pelted with more floating bodies.

Come to think of it, what was the point of this akuma's power anyways? To make people… float?

As he was questioning this, he didn't even realize the person being flung at him before he momentarily blacked out on the pavement.

* * *

"Marinette! Where do you think you are going!? You can't run in your condition!" Lila screamed after the bluenette who was somehow miraculously able to go fast enough to outrun Lila.

While she was just sitting idly in a building, she watched as Chat was knocked unconscious and she couldn't take it anymore. Pain or not, she was going to help him.

Finally putting enough distance between her and Lila, she exited the building and flung herself into the nearest alleyway.

"Tikki! We need to transfor-Oh my gosh! Are you ok!?" Marinette's expression turned from one of determination to horrified.

Tikki looked absolutely exhasuted, her usual red glow was faded to a dull gray and she had visible bags formed under her eyes.

"Tikki! Oh my goodness! What's happened to you!?" She pulled Tikki out her purse and desperately held onto the kwami.

"I…I'll be fine… I'm just-" She coughed, "I'm just… using all my magic to numb your leg injury."

Marinette gasped, so that's why she was feeling no pain! While she was grateful for it, she definitely did not want to see her kwami suffer for it.

"B-but how? Why?" She whispered.

"There's no… no time for questions. Just help Chat…I should be alright in a few minutes." She uttered out.

"I… Tikki I can't! I can't do anything without you! I'm… useless."

"Marinette! That's not tru-!" She coughed before she could get any louder.

Keeping her voice down she continued, "I wouldn't ask you to do this unless I _knew_ you could…I believe in you. So please, have some faith in yourself!"

Before Marinette could argue, Tikki passed out in her arms.

She had a new feeling of terror overcome her, just what exactly was she supposed to do?! She didn't have any superpowers without Tikki!

A crowd of fresh screams, likely caused by the akuma interrupted her thoughts. As terrified as she was, she had to do _something_.

But what exactly could she do!?

Chat was unconscious so there was no way he could help her, not like he would probably. Then there was also the fact she was powerless!

She let out a frustrated sigh and began running towards the akuma scene, getting Chat to safety would probably be something she could manage.

The feeling of terror would only grow as Marinette made her way to the fightscene, unarmed and powerless. Of course she still had her natural strength from being Ladybug all the time, but would that really be enough?

She didn't have much time to think before the akuma spotted her and began screaming.

"Aha! Another peasant!" The child shrieked and Marinette who immediately went wide-eyed.

Before she could blink there was a flurry of bodies hurled towards Marinette.

"Ah!" She yelped, rolling to the side just in time to avoid the impact it may have caused.

 _'What exactly is the point of this akuma's power? Hawkmoth must really be running out of ideas!'_ She thought to herself annoyed, not just at the attack but the fact that innocent people were getting used as ammo.

She dodged another barrage of people and began getting the hang of dodging quite consistently. She was still surprisingly agile even in her civilian form, thankfully. Maybe it was thanks to Tikki's magic, which was already making her leg injury feel nonexistent.

As she gracefully flipped over another barrage of bodies she furrowed her brows in concern.

 _'Ok, clearly I can dodge well, but how am I going to get up to that akuma?! Seriously what's with these levitating akumas!'_ She thought back to the Bride akuma she fought a while back.

She looked up at the akuma, and then down at the ground.

 _'Am I really going to just hurl another chunk of rock at an akuma and hope it knocks them out?_ ' She winced, remembering last times 'success'.

She didn't really have a choice, as the akuma sent another body flying her way.

It hit the ground so hard that a big chunk of concrete was separated from the road. Marinette winced in pain for the poor individual who would probably be in immense amounts of pain if that blow didn't' immediately knock them unconscious.

There was no other choice, she had to resort to this strategy.

Picking up the large chunk of concrete, that would be far too heavy for any normal human, she aimed it at the akuma, who was too busy raising up another load of bodies to hurl at her to notice.

"Hya!" She screamed, throwing the piece of debris with such strength that it seemed almost unreal that a teenage girl could possess such potency.

"Ackkk!" The akuma screamed as the concrete smashed against them square in the chest, knocking them out of the sky and slamming them into the floor.

Not wasting a second, Marinette sprinted up to the akuma and grabbed the scepter which held the akuma in it and ran off to the nearest alleyway to hopefully transform and purify it if possible.

"Tikki!" Marinette pulled the kwami out of her bag and brought her up to head level.

She stirred for a moment then grudgingly opened her eyes.

"Marinette…?" She asked in a hushed tone.

"Tikki! I-I… I got the akuma! I just need to purify it! Are you able to transform me just briefly so I can purify this akuma and then lucky charm the city back to normal?" Marinette asked in a determined tone, yet her voice was just laced with worry.

Tikki blinked slowly and then just nodded.

"I…I think so… As long as it's brief we should be ok."

Marinette just nodded, ever grateful for her kwami friend's iron will. She felt absolutely horrible doing this to Tikki when she was already doing so much for her but there was no other option.

If she didn't lucky charm the city countless people could be left injured and even dead if the impacts were that severe. She had no idea where Chat was either, who knows if he was ok or not.

She felt a pain in her heart as she thought of the idea of Chat lying in pain on the floor.

The thought alone was enough to make her start tearing up.

Wasting no more time, in the absolute fastest transformation she quickly shifted into her ladybug form and purified and lucky charmed the town as swiftly as humanely possible.

It was done so fast that she didn't get to see what exactly the lucky charm was.

 _'Probably not important, right now I need to take care of Tikki!'_ She thought to herself as she began to leave the scene of the fight and rush towards home.


	14. Chapter 14

**(A/N): *DEEP HUFF* I done it! It didn't take like a month to update finally! Hahaaaa! Anyways, hope you enjoy! Thanks again for all the reviews/follows/favs they really just brighten my day! :D  
**

* * *

Chat slowly opened his eyes, many bright flashes piercing his vision as he did. He immediately recognized them as camera's, being used to that sort of thing as both Chat and Adrien.

He slowly began to sit up, his head still a bit dizzy from the impact from earlier. He must have been hit by one of the bodies of the akuma.

 _'Wait… The Akuma is still out there! I've gotta go an-'_

Chat's thoughts were cut off by the now increasingly large crowd sound that began to form around him. The crowd must have gathered while he was laying there unconscious, thank goodness they were at least giving him some space, albeit extremely tiny.

"Chat Noir! It's me your biggest fan!" He heard some fan scream as he stood up completely.

"No! I'm his biggest fan! You're just a poser!" Some girl screamed even louder somehow.

He could hear the sound of the group starting to rile up, "You don't even have the special limited edition Chat Noir set! I use it every night! You're not his _biggest_ fan" Chat immediately blushed at that comment, just what exactly was being merchandised with his brand on it?

He shook his head, probably better off not knowing.

"Excuse me, everyone, I got an akuma to take care of." Chat began, hoping to leave this awkward crowd as soon as he could.

"Akuma?" A girl in the crowd said aloud, "The akuma has been taken care of didn't you hear?"

Chat's eyes widened, did Ladybug take care of it herself?

"Yeah, some girl took it on solo! Can you believe it!" A guy in the crowd piped up.

 _'Some civilian girl…? Took on an akuma? Where was Ladybug?'_ Chat's mind began to wonder.

"As if! Only Ladybug and Chat Noir can take out those things." Another man in the crowd began to argue.

"It's the truth, dude! I have the video to prove!" The man began to pull out his phone and began playing the video.

"Wait, let me see that real quick." Chat said to the man with the phone, who immediately handed it over to him.

Chat almost couldn't believe his eyes as he watched Marinette on screen, dodging all the attacks the akuma sent at her with little effort. She was so graceful in her moves that it almost reminded him of Ladybug. He watched as the scene unfurled and she eventually chucked the huge piece of debris straight at the akuma, which was somehow all caught on film by this bystander.

He couldn't believe his eyes, how the hell did Marinette become so nimble? How did she even lift that huge chunk of debris, surely no teenage girl is _that_ strong?

He wasn't watching anymore, for he was in a state of utter surprise.

"So Chat Noir! How does it feel to be saved by the same girl _twice_?" Chat's ears perked up at the familiar voice, immediately recognizing it as the aspiring journalist Alya. Who had somehow made her way through the crowd and had a microphone right up next to his mouth.

"I-I…" He stuttered, actually at a loss of words. He couldn't believe Marinette would do something so dangerous, not once but _twice_. Not only that but she actually managed to _succeed!_ If Chat didn't know better he would think her luck was almost miraculous.

He couldn't quite see it with the crowd of people blocking his views, but Alya was grinning ear to ear.

"I…I honestly am at a loss of words." He noticed now that he was being recorded and had to somehow utter out a proper response.

"I'm just amazed that a civilian was capable of doing something as miraculous as this." He said honestly, now turned to the screen of one of the many cameras that were beginning to film him.

"I'm sure Ladybug and I will have things under control in the future, but I can't express my thanks enough to the civilian who helped when I was unable to."

With a quick flick of his baton he basically _flew_ out of the crowd as fast as he possibly could.

He _needed_ to talk with Marinette.

* * *

"Owww! This hurts a lot more than I thought it would!" Marinette groaned as Tikka's magic wore off on her leg, thankfully she was in the comfort of her own room so nobody else would see her in this state at least.

"I'm sorry Marinette, but I've numbed it as long as I could." Tikki replied, munching on a cookie to regain her strength.

"N-no no! Don't apologize, it was my fault for being reckless. I should have never have had to make you do something like that to yourself Tikki, I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Marinette…" Tikki smiled at her. She opened her mouth to say something but then a thud from the balcony was heard.

Tikki immediately flew under Marinette's bed, knowing full well that it was probably Chat Noir.

Marinette let out a sigh, not because she was annoyed but rather embarrassed of her state at the moment.

She slowly made her way over to the door, it was difficult with her leg but she managed to trample her way to it. Thankfully she had time to bandage it as soon as she got home.

"Chat-"

"Princess!" Chat immediately flew onto Marinette and pulled her into a deep embrace, one that she wasn't expecting.  
As Chat held her in his arms she couldn't help but feel comforted. Call it infatuation, but she was liking this sort of physical contact between them.

It was strange though, as Chat began pulling away she felt… disheartened? She never felt sad for someone like Alya or Lila to stop hugging her, so why was she feeling this way about Chat?

They _were_ just friends after all.

"Sorry…" He spoke, realizing that hugging was probably pretty invasive of her privacy. He looked down, trying hard to hide a blush forming on his cheeks.

Thankfully he had the mask to cover most of it. Not that it mattered since Marinette was just as red as he was.

Before Marinette could speak, she was once again too slow.

"I-I just…I don't know… I'm…" He stuttered out, trying to form a coherent sentence.

' _He kinda reminds me of how I was with Adrien, deja vu.'_ She thought to herself, feeling empathetic. Obviously this was a different case though, Chat had no feelings _that_ way for her and this was obviously his struggle on trying to figure out how to tell her off on interfering with akuma buisness.

"I'm sorry." She exhaled, interrupting his stuttering mess of words.

He looked at her with confusion, tilting his head to the side in curiosity.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

"I…I shouldn't hav-"

"Marinette you literally _saved_ Paris, _twice!_ " Chat put his hands on her shoulders, making her look in his eyes in a state of surprise.

"If anyone should be apologizing… It's me." Chat sighed, looking down ashamed.

"Huh, why?" Marinette asked baffled he would even say something like that.

"Because…" He choked out, pulling his hands off her shoulders and looking away from her eyes, "Because I failed."

"Failed? Failed what?"

"I failed Paris, I failed Ladybug and I failed you." He dropped his head in shame, making Marinette's eyes widen in surprise.

"I'm supposed to be a hero of Paris, and I _failed_ twice already! I-I was just useless without Ladybug! I'm just… just," He was on the verge of tears, and Marinette could hardly bear seeing Chat in such a state.

"I'm just a waste… I've put everyone in danger by not being strong enough to handle myself against these akumas. Worst of all, you've had to put yourself in danger to fix something I should have easily been able to solve."

"That's not true!" Marinette suddenly spoke up, making Chat's ears twitch in surprise, not expecting his shy classmate from school to actually have such a commanding tone.

"Chat Noir, you've saved Paris _countless_ times, one or two mistakes doesn't make you a _waste!_ I can't believe you would think that of yourself! You always work so hard and put your needs before others that you probably can't see how much joy and prosperity you've preserved in Paris."

She paused, a blush forming on her cheeks once again, "How much joy you've brought to… me."

Chat's grin was so wide it almost took up his entire face. He stood up and walked a bit closer to where Marinette was standing, she was looking down now clearly flustered.

"Well look who's talking." He couldn't suppress a slight chuckle.

She looked up and was met once again with his dazzling grin and eyes that just seemed even more gorgeous in the sunset behind him, making his angelic blonde hair glow vibrantly.

"What do you mean?" She managed to say in a coherent sentence, surprising herself in the process.

"You're always going on about how you're not talented or how you always screw things up."

He moved in a bit closer, "You have just no idea… How amazing you really are."

He was so close now, his face just mere inches away. She could see every small flawless detail of his skin up close. She could feel her eyes drifting downwards to his lips, and for the first time, she realized how badly she wanted to kiss him.

' _No Marinette! What are you doing? This is so inappropriate to have these thoughts! Chat doesn't like you that way!'_ She mentally scolded herself before putting a bit of distance between them.

"Well, it would seem we're both pretty bad at this whole confidence thing huh?" She playfully punched him in the shoulder.

She didn't notice his ears droop a little, but he seemed to force out a smile, much to her knowledge.

"Hehe… Yeah." He said somewhat dryly.

Marinette didn't know why, but he sounded almost upset and she couldn't comprehend why.

It was only a few short moments after that he quickly took his leave, making Marinette suspicious.

She was going to get to the bottom of this, that was for certain. She was really beginning to treasure this friendship she had with Chat in her civilian form and she'd be damned if she lost it.


	15. Chapter 15

**(A/N): Once again... So sorry for the long breaks between updates! I've been going through some personal stress and it's been difficult to find my motivation to write. But ALAS! Thanks to all your kinds words of support I was able to pull myself together again to continue writing! I hope you like this chapter and it doesn't seem too rushed!  
**

* * *

It had been days since Chat had visited Marinette, and for some reason he was _very_ brief in his encounters with Ladybug as well.

Since he wasn't visiting her as Marinette, her only chance to find out what was wrong was in her Ladybug form. Of course she had to not make it obvious that she was Marinette, but she needed to find out what happened between them that made him want to be so distant from her.

So today at patrol was her only chance to catch him and hopefully find out what happened. She didn't know why but she had gotten so accustomed to Chat's visits as Marinette and she didn't want them to end.

While Ladybug sat on their usual meeting spot, the Eiffel Tower she noticed a few white flakes begin falling from the sky.

Snow…

She held out her leather covered hand and watched as a flake landed in it, slowly melting at her touch.

A small smile formed on her lips, it was truly Winter now.

A thud was heard behind her and she quickly turned around to see Chat standing, back towards her and all.

She turned and was about to speak, but then she saw him fully for the first time in days, tail drooped, ears flat and a long exasperated sigh that left his lips.

"Chat…? Is something wrong?" Ladybug was hesitant to ask.

Chat looked at her briefly before shifting his gaze away.

"It's nothing important."

Ladybug furrowed her gaze, a bit frustrated but also relieved he was at least speaking to her again.

"C'mon Chat… If I did something wrong, I want to know." She felt herself frown as she moved closer to him.

"It's not your fault Ladybug… You've done nothing wrong." He sighed, looking down at his feet.

"Well, if it isn't me… Then what's bothering you? You know you can talk to me…" Chat looked at her, and something about his gaze made her blush. "A-as a friend you know, we're friends and all after all right?!" She bit her lip, forcing that awkwardness of her civilian self back into hiding.

"I don't know…" He exhaled, running his hands through his golden locks in a sort of exasperated way.

Ladybug stared intently as she waited patiently for him to continue.

"I really like this girl… Like a lot." His face began to turn a shade of red, "But I don't think she likes me back…" He looked at her and something about the disappointment in his voice just made her heart shatter.

"What makes you say that? Did she tell you?" Ladybug asked concerned, throwing away her petty feelings of jealousy. Chat's happiness is what mattered now, not whether she would be with him in the end or not.

"Well no…But it's pretty obvious… Ok well, it was pretty rude of me to do so but I snooped around her room once when I shouldn't have…"

Ladybug shook her head, "It's never ok to snoop in a girls room, Chaton."

"I know! I know! I shouldn't have, just let me finish!" He said defensively.

"Anyways, I noticed she had posters that used to be hung up in her room but were suddenly torn down. I was curious to know what they were _of_ …" He paused.

"I realized that after reading her diary-"

"You read her diary?!" Ladybug screeched, as she furrowed her brows angrily.

"I know it was wrong! I-I just had to know…" He drooped his ears in defeat.

Ladybug sighed, "While I don't like how you snooped around this poor girl's privacy… I'm curious to know what you found out…" She said with a hint of mischief.

"Well…While it didn't say who the name was… It was clear she's in love with someone else." He turned away.

"How do you know that? If she didn't write the name of the person then how are you to know if you're not the one she was writing about?"

"Well, I read about how she described him… Blonde hair that shines like the sun… Emerald green eyes that pierce through your soul… A smile that melts your heart to look at." He looked down, obviously jealous at the thought of his crush writing all that about someone _else._

 _"_ Chat Noir are you stupid?" Ladybug stomped right up to his face.

His eyes widened as Ladybug pointed an accusing finger at him.

"That _literally_ describes you, I don't know how the hell you would think otherwise."

Chat let out a tiny gasp and came to the realization that maybe she _was_ talking about him.

Ladybug put her hands on Chat's shoulders and looked him straight into the eye.

"Blonde hair that shines like the sun…" She gazed at his golden locks as they swayed gently in the snowy wind.

"Green eyes that pierce through your soul…" She gazed intently in his eyes, admiring their beauty for a moment.

"A smile… That melts your heart to look at…" She choked out, on the verge of tears.

Chat's smile turned into a face of concern as Ladybug began to hold back sobs.

"M'lady?! Are you ok?!" Chat grabbed onto her shoulders as she began to pull herself away from their gentle embrace.

"I-I'm fine!" She said sternly, looking up at him and forcing a smile as a tear dripped from her cheek.

"I'm perfectly fine." She laughed as more began spilling from her gentle eyes.

Chat stood at a loss of words, but still had his hands placed on her shoulders.

"I want you to tell this girl how you feel, and I want you-" She choked, "I want you to be happy, most of all _mon Chaton._ " With that she was of with a flick of her yoyo, leaving Chat more confused than ever.

* * *

When she finally landed on some random rooftop and was sure Chat didn't follow her she released her transformation.

"Marinette! You know you shouldn't drop your transformation when you're out in-" Tikki began but immediately stopped when she was Marinette on the ground, tears just pouring from her eyes as her slight pants turned into sobs.

"Oh my goodness! Are you ok Marinette?!" Tikki rushed over.

"I-I… don't know if I will be Tikki." Marinette choked out between her rather loud sobs.

Tikki paused for a moment and gave her damp cheek a hug with her tiny body.

"Don't say that…I know you'll get through this." She comforted gently.

"I should've told him Tikki…Now it's too late."

"Told him what, Marinette?" She pressed, pulling away slightly so she was hovering right above her face.

"I should have told him… That I… Love him."


	16. Chapter 16

**(A/N): Thank you all SOOO much for the positive reviews last chapter, they just made me so happy during a stressful week! So here I am back with another update!**

* * *

"Marinette honey? Are you ok?" Sabine asked worried as she hurried over to her and helped her inside the bakery.

It had been quite a bit of a walk back home and snow had started coming down a bit more heavily.

She normally would have zipped back home as Ladybug but obviously, fate was not the kindest to her today.

"I'm ok Maman, I just wanted to take a little walk in the snow." She forced a smile and was thankful the cold weather made her cheeks red so her mother couldn't tell she had been crying her eyes out.

"Well try and keep your walks to a minimum this week, the forecast is predicting blizzards for the next few days!" Sabine lectured gently.

Marinette just nodded blindly in response.

"I left dinner on the counter, take some up with you if you'd like." Her mother smiled warmly at her before heading off to the living room.

Marinette smiled as she watched her go, what did she ever do to deserve such a great mother.

However, she wasn't really in the mood for eating right now, not after what happened with Chat.

She made a total fool of herself in front of him, and she also left him to do patrol alone for the night.

How would she even face him again? He must think she's totally insane.

These thoughts pondered throughout her head as she made her way upstairs to her room.

When she opened her trapdoor to the room she noticed it was dimly lit with the faint glowing light of the snowfall outside, even though it was almost dark.

It was so beautiful… Maybe watching the snow outside would be a nice relaxing thing to do. To clear her mind from all the boy trouble.

* * *

She was right about calming down at least, just gently watching the snow fall down eased her mind tremendously.

"Marinette? Are you coming in soon, you've been out here a while." Tikki fluttered next to the girl who was in a sort of daydreamed trance.

"Yeah… I guess I should head back inside."

As she turned to leave however, she heard a thud behind her and almost immediately recognized the sound of it.

She closed her eyes shut for a moment and dreaded the moment.

 _'Oh god is he really here now? How can I even face him after that breakdown I had…'_ She paused for a moment, ' _Well at least he doesn't know I'm Ladybug so I just got to act natural and things won't be so bad.'_

"Oh hey uh, Chat Noir! H-how are you d-doing on this evening fine?" She said so awkwardly that she wished she could erase those words that were just uttered from her from existence.

"Princess… I need to talk to you… If you have a second." He said, seemingly unfazed by her awkwardness.

"A second? Well sure I-I've got so many seconds I practically just have them to spare!" She began deliriously, trying extremely hard not to break down in front of him.

"Good." He cleared his throat and stood up as straight as he could.

"I-uh…" He began, already failing at looking confident.

Marinette looked at him intently, honestly confused as to what he was going to say.

"Say… There's someone you really, I mean _really_ like- but you don't want to ruin a great friendship you have with them if you tell them how you feel…" His face began turning red, but Marinette appeared oblivious.

Her mind was too occupied with the fact that Chat was asking _her_ about _that_ girl, the girl he hadn't even confessed too yet!

If fate wasn't cruel to her already she didn't know what she did to deserve this kind of punishment.

"How would you tell them… Without ruining everything if they don't feel the same." He said quietly, looking deep in thought towards Marinette. She was forced out of her internal breakdown as he stared at her with such intent.

Marinette felt a tear prick itself in the corner of her eye, she was biting her lip so hard to not cry.

"I-I would…" She huffed lightly, holding back a painful sob.

"I would just…" She was on the verge of letting it all out, but she knew she couldn't. She couldn't be so selfish to Chat. She had her chance with him as Ladybug, and now it was time to set him free. Oh gods how badly she wanted to cry and tell him her feelings, but she knew that she had to do what was right.

"I would just go and tell them straight away, no games-" She looked at him, "No puns." She cracked a small smile and felt the tear in her eye drip down slowly. "But most of all, just be sincere." She sniffed, as she wiped her damp eye.

"If this person is understanding enough I-I'm sure… I'm sure they'll… understand." She choked out, tears just dripping mercilessly from her eyes.

"Even if they don't feel the same." She smiled, somehow or another.

"Princess, why are you crying?" Chat stood up and without much sound at all was already wrapping her in an embrace.

"I-I'm not." She whimpered in his touch. It was so warm, so gentle, it felt like she belonged in them.

"Yes, you are." He placed his hand on her cheek and wiped away a fresh tear that was falling from her eyes. Which then forced her to look upon his face, that was littered with concern.

"Chat, you don't need to worry about me." She tried to push against him to free herself from the hug that was making her want him more.

But he was resilient and wouldn't let her push him away so easily this time.

"Princess…" He said unsurely but still concerned nonetheless.

"Chat you're not making this easy." She closed her eyes shut and let herself selfishly enjoy his embrace.

"Making what easy?"

Marinette's eyes widened and with that much adrenaline and shock in her system, she was able to free herself from Chat's intoxicating embrace.

"N-nothing." She stammered, looking away.

Chat moved in closer once again, making Marinette twinge. She really liked being near him, but she had to realize that whatever fantasies she was creating in her head would never come true.

' _You had your chance with him as Ladybug, and then you decided to pursue Adrien, it's all your fault.'_ Her mind berated her mercilessly.

"Marinette." Chat whispered for he was only centimeters away at this point. She could feel his warm breath tickling up against her somewhat numb nose.

Chat hardly ever called her by her first name, something about it seemed odd.

She couldn't even hold back the blush that began creeping up her cheeks. He was looking at her with a sultry sort of look in his eyes. She couldn't even deny it anymore, he was _hot._

She let herself foolishly gaze back into his eyes if only for a few moments, for she knew this would probably be the last time she would get to see him this personal and up close.

Once he told that girl how he felt she feared it would be the end of their friendship. It would also be the end of whatever fantasies her mind was creating about the two of them together.

"Chat… You need to go." She gulped, "I want you to go right now and tell this person that you like how you feel about them." She forced out another smile as more tears just spilled from her eyes.

Chat opened his mouth as if he was going to say something but then just embraced Marinette once again, so fast she could hardly react.

"How can I do that… When my Princess is crying."

* * *

 **(A/N): Ok so next chapter is going to be pretty big, at least in my opinion. I dunno, don't trust me though, I have a terrible sense of dramatics and such. I just didn't want to rush anything this chapter, so I'm trying to find a good pacing. Sorry if it seems slow, I'm working my best to try and make it more interesting! Thanks again so much for the reviews, I really do read all of them even if I don't respond (cause I feel awkward doing it sometimes lol). See you all soon!**


	17. Chapter 17

**(A/N): WOOO! I'm back! Thank you all SO much for the kind words, it really means a lot that nobody is upset with my horrible updating schedule ,. I'm so relieved that you all are so understanding and kind, such an amazing community! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'll see you at the bottom I hope :D**

* * *

Marinette wanted to be angry at Chat, angry that he had chosen someone else and was not making it easy for her to just drop him.

In fact, the _fact_ that he was concerned about her just made things all the more worse.

But she couldn't bring herself to be angry at all. Not when he was holding her like he was, how she had always imagined Adrien doing something like this to her in the past now was replaced with Chat.

She couldn't have been happier if it wasn't all just some fantasy.

"C-chat… I said don't worry about me." Marinette stuttered, her voice a bit muffled by Chat's body pressing up slightly against her mouth in the embrace.

"Princess, I'm afraid that's impossible." He smirked a little and pulled back to give her some more air, but still held her in his arms.

Marinette blushed and turned her face as far away from his as possible, not wanting him to see it.

"Chat…"

"Princess…" Chat placed his hand on her cheek and stared intently at her face. Her eyes twinkled like an azure, frosty night sky with the snow reflecting in her gaze. Her hair dazzled and flowed outwards like a waterfall, gleaming dimly in the soft hue of the glowing moonlight. He couldn't stand idly anymore as he gazed intently at her plump, rose-colored and glossy lips. He wanted so desperately to press his own against them, to just be connected to her being.

They were mere centimeters away from their lips touching at this point.

Oh god, how she wanted to just lean forward a _tiny_ bit more, but she knew it was not meant to be.

She was being insane, this is all just some sick fantasy that she created in her head. Just the idea that Chat could like _plain_ and _clumsy_ Marinette was just a stupid idea.

Marinette pulled her head out of distance and was shocked for a moment to see Chat was gazing at her with half-lidded eyes, as if he was in some sort of trance. However a second later he looked extremely surprised and almost upset at her sudden change of motion.

"Princess I-…" He said stuttering, his ears drooping.

"Chat… I don't want to keep you here any longer." She said, her heart breaking more as she continued. "It's selfish of me to keep you here when the person that you like is out there."

"Marinette, what are you talking about?" He said in a confused voice.

"I've been a fool Chat Noir… I thought I had a chance with this boy all these years…" She gulped and turned to him, more tears forming.

"And I thought I had a chance with you." She felt a tear trickle down her cheek.

"I'm so stupid Chat… Please…" She hiccuped, "For me… Just go tell this girl how you feel." She put her hands up to her eyes to hide the tears.

"I want you to be happy." She began to sob.

There was a pause, and since Marinette's eyes were covered she assumed Chat had already left. So she was surprised to see him standing right in front of her, his eyes just piercing through her being.

"I'm sorry Marinette, I can't do that." He wiped away a tear that was trickling from her now glimmering eyes.

Marinette choked out another sob, "W-why not?!" She said a bit more loud than she would have cared to.

"Because… I don't think I can _tell_ her anymore." He paused, "I want to show her."

With that, he moved so fast that she hardly had a chance to properly realize what had happened.

His lips were on hers, it was a bit rough but she could tell he was holding back in it. His lips were warm, a refreshing thing from the cold weather that seemed to be making her shiver, at least she assumed it was from the weather and not from the kiss.

She let out a small gasp and broke away for a moment, but before she could get another breath in Chat's lips captured hers in a tender embrace once more.

She felt him move his arms behind her back and push her closer to him as he enraptured her lips several times over.

Marinette felt herself melt into each one, not really aware of anything else except savoring this moment that she never thought would actually exist.

Her arms slowly moved from her sides to Chat's arms, moving up his defined body and to his messy golden locks, entangling her fingers in the soft tresses.

She felt a low rumble from his throat as she pulled his hair gently and pulled him closer to her.

It was hard to see due to them being pressed against herss, but she could see a small smirk form on his mouth as he relentlessly assaulted her with these intoxicating kisses.

It must have been a good few minutes before Marinette gently pulled herself away from Chat's captivating lips. Hers was a bit red and puffy, not used to such actions and she couldn't help but feel overjoyed when she saw Chat's lips were too.

That would mean he hadn't done this sort of thing often with anyone else. That thought alone made her feel so much happier.

"Chat… I…" She began to regain composure of herself, truly lost for words.

"Cat got your tongue?~" He grinned at her stuttering.

"You ass!" She slapped him jokingly.

"May want to get your beautiful eyes checked Princess, I'm a cat." He grinned wider.

Marinette couldn't hold back the smile that was forming on her face, the tears that were once falling from sadness were not filled with happiness.

"Chat." She said suddenly more serious, making him look her dead in the eye.

"Was… Was I the girl that you liked…?"

"Wasn't that obvious?" He began to chuckle lightly, his lips parted when he did making Marinette stare at them more intently than ever.

Chat noticed this subtly and flicked his ear in glee.

"Princess." He said huskily in her ear, making Marinette shiver, and not from the cold weather.

"Y-yes..?"

"I don't want to see you cry anymore… Especially if it's because of me." He offered sympathetically.

"Seeing you happy… Brings me more joy than you know." He smiled at her, his eyes still drawing circles to her lips that seemed to be enchanting him.

She blushed so furiously red at that comment but didn't even bother to hide it this time.

"So tell me, what can I do… To make you happy?" He whispered seductively in her ear.

She didn't even comprehend what she said, her mouth had a mind of its own clearly.

"Kiss me."

He didn't waste another second as his lips came crashing back down on hers.

His arms seemed to find their way back around her waist and he kneaded her hips slightly with his clawed hands.

Marinette put her hands up to his neck to have more support when reaching up, he was a bit taller than her so she had to lean up while he had to lean down.

"Chat…" She gasped gently as he nibbled gently on her bottom lip and then returned to enrapturing her mouth.

"I love you." He suddenly said as they broke for air for a second.

"W-what?" She replied, eyes widening.

Chat's eyes widened even larger at his sudden slip of words.

"Shit! Uh… Princess I-I'm sorry! I didn't-" He was cut off by Marinette's lips smashing into his, roughly.

Chat didn't even react for a full second, his eyes just widely staring at Marinette, whose eyes were shut tight as she did.

She pulled away and left Chat absolutely breathless.

"I love you too… You know." She blushed, losing that confidence she had just moments ago.

"Y-you do?!" He said, his ears and tails rising up excitedly, and Marinette couldn't help but think it was the most adorable thing.

"Yes, you idiot." She smirked jokingly.

"But now I'm your idiot." He purred, grabbing her and pulling her close once more.

"I guess you are." She smiled as she leaned upwards and let her lips be taken by his.

* * *

 **(A/N): Yaaay! It finally happened, even as the author I was getting impatient lol. I hope you enjoyed it! I still have lots to learn when writing romance but that's what this is for right? Good old practice :). I also have a question, should I keep the rating to T and keep the romance a bit more 'censored' or go into more detail with an M rating? It's really up to you all, I'm fine either way but I just want to know what the general audience would prefer! Let me know via PM or Review, I would appreciate your opinions! Thanks, and see you all next time!~**


	18. Chapter 18

**(A/N): I'm BACCCKKKKK! I honestly don't know what took me so long, part lack of motivation, part laziness, part some other random element I forgot to include? Ah whatever the case, at least I got this update done. Also, I want to thank everyone so much for the feedback on what rating to keep/change the story too! The only issue is... I got an extremely mixed response! Which is really difficult for me to decide what to do! So I have a few 'solutions' in mind to hopefully make everyone happy! A: I keep the story T and have completely option M rated chapters that will be posted as a 'separate' story. B: I change the story to M but make VERY clear warnings when there is going to be a lemon scene. Or C: I just keep this story rated T and make my next Miraculous fic rated M! Let me know what you guys think, I'm here to try and make everyone as happy as I can!**

* * *

Marinette awoke the next morning, the memories from the night before a bit hazy. She had remembered that she and Chat had kissed.

 _Several_ times.

Then she vaguely remembered him saying he had to leave, but it was unclear after that. She was still in a bit of a daze. She had never really been _kissed,_ at least, not like that. She knew she liked it, but it was a bit of a new feeling that she was open to doing again.

Only with Chat now.

Her fantasies of Adrien had died down, and a part of her felt a little saddened in a way. It was almost like her childhood was beginning to fade away.

That twinge of sadness quickly ended when she touched her lip and remembered how Chat's felt against hers. She smiled, and kept them there for another moment.

Maybe growing up would not be so bad. After all, she was turning 18 very soon.

* * *

The school had been hectic as usual, it was getting closer to the end of the year. On top of that, the fact that Marinette took down _another_ akuma solo in her civilian form still had people buzzing.

As usual at the end of the school day, Alya, Lila, and Marinette began walking home together.

"I'm still so freaking amazed Marinette, I know I tell you this everyday." Alya grinned as she watched the footage of Marinette beating the akuma once more.

Marinette blushed lightly at the comment and for some instinctive reason put her finger back up on her lip.

Lila, took notice and finally decided to speak.

"Marinette, I noticed you've been touching your lip a lot all day… An interesting sign if I do say so myself…" Lila eyed Alya, who finally peeled her eyes off her screen to get the message.

"Oh!" Alya scrambled, "Yeah, girl. Is there something your not telling us?" Alya began to grin as well.

Marinette looked at her two friends, a bit mortified.

"I-uh-W-w-w…What do you mean?!"

"You can't hide it from us Marinette. You were _kissed!"_ Alya blurted out, making Marinette's eyes widen.

"Judging by the way she keeps touching it too, I'd say it was more of a make-out session.~" Lila teased, making Marinette flush red.

"Y-you guys!" Marinette stammered.

"So who was it?! Anyone we may know?" Alya quickly interjected before Marinette could protest anything.

"I bet it was Luka, they have been kind of close." Lila smiled towards Alya, enjoying seeing their friend stammer.

"Hm… Maybe, but I think it may be Nathaniel." Alya tapped her chin smiling devilishly, making Marinette just turn a shade redder somehow.

When Marinette didn't stammer in response, Alya continued.

"Was it… _Adrien?"_ Alya gasped, as both Lila and Marinette turned to her in shock.

"Oh _god_ -" Lila grabbed Marinette by the shoulders, " _Please,_ tell me you did not stoop that low, girl." Lila said grimly.

"N-NO! Y-you guys!" Marinette finally responded, regaining her composure. Lila and Alya eyed her curiously.

"It was none of those guys, ok. Can we just move on please?" She said in a desperate attempt, but she knew very well that her friends would not be swayed so easily off topic.

"So you _do_ admit that you kissed someone?~" Alya cooed while Marinette just slapped her forehead.

"So long as it wasn't Adrien…" Lila narrowed her eyes, looking away for a moment. "It's fine whoever Marinette kisses." Lila shrugged.

"Agreed!" Alya nodded, but not really agreeing with Lila that Adrien was as horrible as she made him out to be.

Marinette, was trying very hard to seem unphased but she knew her friends tended to ramble on about the same subject for a good long while. Unfortunately, when the subject was _her,_ it made her all the more uncomfortable.

* * *

As the girls walked home snow began to fall down, much to the dismay of Marinette who had no hat to cover from the fall.

When she finally made it up to her room she sat down on her chaise and began wringing out her now wet hair from the melted snow.

She looked out the window, a bit longingly, wondering if Chat would be coming back anytime soon to see her again.

Now that she knew he felt the same about her she felt a bit more at ease. Though she couldn't shake a bit of a feeling off… That maybe she wasn't the only girl?

Chat had always been a flirt, she knew that from her years' side by side with him as Ladybug, and he had only a few months ago been showing attention to Marinette now. She had seen him flirt with the likes of Ladybug several times and Rena Rouge, so she only assumed he had flirted a bit more.

His flirting with other girls never bothered her before… But now that they were- 'together'-ish, it sort of rubbed her the wrong way.

Not only that… What if what happened yesterday made Chat... not like her, and he was just being polite and not saying it to her face. What if she was a horrible kisser and he never wanted to kiss her again? Or if he realized that she was just a boring baker's daughter and already got bored of her?!

She let out a sigh and shook her head.

She was letting the anxiety get to her head once again, whatever her and Chat were she had to believe that he liked her enough to see through her obvious flaws. She only hoped he would come back to see her.

" _Purrincess!~ Let me in I'm freezing out here!"_

Chat's voice could be heard through the glass window on Marinette's balcony.

She didn't know why but a large smile began to plaster itself on her face as she heard he was here. For some stupid reason she had it in her pessimistic head that Chat wouldn't come back to see her after what happened yesterday.

But her pessimism could hardly last as she opened the door to only be quickly pounced on by Chat who had her pinned to the ground in seconds.

"C-chat?!" She squealed as he peered over above her, gazing at her intently. His cheeks were dusted red, likely from being out in the snow and he still had little glimmers of snow on his hair. It made it sparkle more than usual and Marinette couldn't help but look at him entranced.

"That's me." He grinned and looked down at Marinette with said with a smirk.

"Why did you think tackling me down the first second you saw me would be a good idea?"

"Er… Well." He began to blush as Marinette held her accusing gaze, "Don't laugh but… I really missed you."

Marinette couldn't hold back a light giggle and she put her hand to her mouth to cover up the sound as best she could.

"H-hey I told you not to laugh!" Chat's confident demeanor slowly fading.

"I-I'm not!" Marinette began to laugh louder than before.

"You are!" Chat removed her hand from her lip and booped her nose playfully.

"Ok, ok… But really-" She looked away for a moment, "It's only been a day, I didn't think you would miss me _that_ much."

"Are you kidding me?" Chat leaned in closer.

"A single day is _far_ too long to be away from my Princess!~" He said dramatically earning an eye-roll from Marinette.

"So are you going to let me up or are you going to keep me pinned down?" She said deadpanned.

"Mmm… I don't know, I kinda like this position.~" Chat said suggestively, making Marinette's deadpan nature turn into one of a blushing stammering person once again.

"Y-you!" Marinette struggled underneath him but stopped as Chat slowly leaned in closer.

There was a moment of silence and Marinette paused as she gazed at Chat intently.

"Can I kiss you?" Chat mumbled.

"You didn't ask yesterday." She shrugged, making Chat blush.

"I-er… yeah sorry, I shouldn't have done that without asking." He scratched the back of his head nervously.

"I'm glad you didn't though." She paused, looking away. "I probably would have been too scared to have said yes, even though I really wanted to inside."

Chat stared at her keenly, before she turned back to face him.

She slowly moved her hand up to brush his cheek. It was a bit chilled, from being out in the snow she assumed. It felt nice, it was soft but had a smooth texture as well.

' _He must take really good care of his skin_ ', she thought to herself.

Chat closed his eyes as she trailed her fingers down to his jawline and then back up to the back of his head, where she entangled her fingers in his golden locks.

Chat started to purr gently as she gently massaged his head with her fingers and while his eyes were closed he could feel Marinette's smile somehow.

Of course, Marinette knew he purred from her time with him as Ladybug, but somehow him doing it with her just made her feel… joyous? She thought it was adorable, as if he couldn't get cuter.

Slowly their heads leaned closer together and their lips met in succession.

Chat's purring volume increased and Marinette couldn't help but break off the kiss for a second to laugh at the sensation.

"Pff! You're lips tickle so much when you purr, it's all vibrating!"

"Mm… Well you're about to laugh a whole lot more then.~" Chat grinned as he dived down to kiss her lips more, much to her laughing dismay.

Slowly, however, she began to get used to the sensation and began to focus more on the passion that was beginning to build between the two of them.

"Chat…" She uttered breathlessly.

"Princess I…" Chat started like he was going to say something important but he quickly broke off the contact that they had, much to Marinette's dismay.

"Chat? What's wrong?" Marinette sat up a bit, now that Chat had finally let off her.

"Marinette?! You've got some explaining to do!" A voice that could be recognized as Alya burst through the room.

Although Marinette knew very well that Alya was at the door to her bedroom, probably seeing the whole scene unfold with Chat, she couldn't bear to face her at this moment.

Oh gods, how was she going to explain this?!


	19. Chapter 19

**(A/N): I would like to say a HUGE thank you to everyone for their patience on this chapter. I know I took an unreasonably long time off and I may be worried some people that I was going to abandon the story or something like that. Well, I can guarantee you, I'm going to finish this story one way or another. I've never actually gotten so far in writing something that this is the first time I'm actually going to FINISH something, so there will still be updates, sorry if they take such a long time! I'm really trying to motivate myself to stick to this one story (I have so many other ideas for other stories that it's difficult for me to stay focused! But it's really difficult!) Anyways, I'll try my best to be a bit more timely next time and hopefully a gap this large won't occur that often. Sorry about the wait again, I'm trying my best :).**

* * *

"Marinette! Oh my _god!"_ Alya gasped, her jaw so far open that it was almost unreal.

"A-Alya! It's not what it looks like!" Marinette tried to defend herself, her blush increasing to new levels of red.

"I'm _pretty_ sure it looked like Chat Noir's tongue was in your mouth, how can that not be what it _looks_ like!"

"Oh c'mon, I didn't even get to go that far…" Chat said as he scratched the back of his head nonchalantly, seemingly unaffected by Alda's entrance.

"Chat!" Marinette slapped his arm making him wince.

Alya locked the door behind her to prevent anyone else that may come in from getting in and took a large breath.

"Oh my god Marinette…" Alya said through her breaths.

"Alya, I'm sorry! Please don't be mad!" Marinette panicked.

" _Mad?!_ Why the _hell_ would I be mad?! My best friend is getting to hook up with a superhero, this is literally the best thing ever!" Alya squealed, but Marinette's poor cheeks just turned another shade of red.

"That is _not_ what this relationship is Alya! I've only kissed him… a few times!" Marinette desperately tried to defend herself.

"Mm, but this _relationship_ is escalating quite quickly non~." Chat leaned himself near Marinette making her even more flustered, clearly he was enjoying this.

Alya suddenly rushed over to Marinette's bed and grabbed a pillow off of it. With a large breath she screamed into it and when she released her head from the pillow her face was flush.

"You. need. to. tell. me. _EVERYTHINGGGGG!_ " Alya practically leaped at Marinette making both her and Chat widen their eyes in surprise.

"T-there isn't much to tell! I just… I don't know!" Marinette squealed while Chat smirked at her response.

* * *

After many many minutes of squeezing out the 'juicy deets' as Alya called it, she finally was able to have a rational conversation with the couple.

"Damn… So that's how it happened." Alya said exasperatedly.

"I always _knew_ there was something going on between you two, I mean Marinette going into the action to save someone was already beyond amazing but now I know she did it cause you were her boyfriend all along!" Alya smirked.

"I actually wasn't 'with' Chat when those Akuma attacks happened… I just sorta acted out of instinct." Marinette fiddled with a loose strand of hair while Chat was staring at her intently.

"Hm… I guess I did never really see you 'fight' back in akuma attacks in the past. Ladybug arrived late to those two akuma attacks so I guess you had to be the one to step in." Alya concluded.

"It's honestly an amazing instinct you have Marinette! I didn't know you were a weightlifter until those akuma attacks either, what else have you been hiding!" Alya nudged.

"Wait, are you a weightlifter?" Chat tilted his head at Marinette.

 _'Crap, I forgot I told Alya I lifted weights in order to explain how I was able to carry that much weight in my civilian form. I guess I'll have to keep the lie going.'_

"Aha, yeah… It's sorta my second passion y'know." Marinette said nervously.

"Well I think it's awesome you are such a passionate person." Chat smirked as he gave Marinette a quick peck on the cheek, making her flustered once again.

"You guys are just so _damn_ cute! Lila's gonna freak out when she sees you two together!" Alya smiled at the two of them.

"Wait, Alya. We can't tell Lila… or anyone of this relationship we have going." Marinette responded.

"Huh, why not?" Alya asked curiously and Chat looked at Marinette with the same confusion as Alya.

"Because… I… I can't explain why. I don't want to keep things from Lila or anyone else but just trust me when I say that this 'thing' I have with Chat has to be kept a secret." Marinette frowned as she spoke.

Chat looked visibly upset but Alya put her hands to her chin in a thinking motion before looking up to meet Marinette's worried gaze.

"Alright, I understand," Alya said, much to Marinette's surprise.

"If word about your 'intercourse' got out-"

"Stop making this sexual, Alya!" Marinette butted in, clearly peeved.

"Fine, sorry, if word about your 'relationship' got out, I guess I can understand it would be troublesome." Alya nodded her head as she finished.

"I'm glad you understand, Alya." Marinette smiled gently, looking over to Chat who didn't meet her gaze, however.

"But I do have to ask… If you can't share with the world your relationship, then how are you going to go about progressing it?" Alya said, making Marintte's attention directly shift towards her.

"I…" Marinette gulped, hoping desperately that Chat would chime in and say something witty to save her but it was to no avail.

"I honestly don't know…" Marinette sighed, making Alya offer a gentle smile of reassurance.

"Hey, it's ok girl! I'm sure you'll figure it out. I mean you've managed to get over your crush _and_ land yourself with quite possibly one of the most iconic people in Paris."

Chat's ears twitched when he heard the word 'crush' but he kept his gaze away from the girls' conversation otherwise.

"All in like half a year? Damn girl, you gotta give me your secrets." Alya grinned widely as she concluded

* * *

It took a while for Alya to leave but Marinette made sure to walk her out in case she decided to 'stick around'.

Marinette had a lot of trust in Alya and was certain she wouldn't go around telling everyone that she was with Chat now. After all, she trusted her enough to make her Rena Rouge.

When Marinette finally made it back to her room, she made sure to lock the door behind her as she did.

"Chat? Alya has left, where are you?" Marinette asked gently, but there was no response.

"Hm… Where could he have gone?"

After searching her room thoroughly she concluded that he had left, and she could not help but feel a little hurt that he left without even saying goodbye.

Hopefully, he had a good excuse, she thought to herself in a sort of way to cope with this new feeling of 'frustration'?

"Marinette?" Tikki's voice chimed in making her snap out of her thoughts.

"Ah Tikki, did you happen to see Chat?"

Tikki looked a bit nervous but spoke anyway, "Yeah uh… He seemed pretty upset and left as soon as you walked Alya out, don't know what for though."

"Upset? But… He seemed just fine earlier." Marinette thought unnerved a bit.

Tikki just shrugged in response and flew off to her bed.

"Well, hopefully, he'll let me know what made him so upset tomorrow." Marinette sighed in defeat, it's not like she could chase after Chat and ask him.

Well, she _could_ do the chasing part but finding where he would be, especially he if de-transformed would be a challenge.


	20. Chapter 20

Chat hadn't come visit her in a week! To say Marinette was anxious would be a bit of an understatement! She already was a bit insecure about her 'relationship' with Chat, she had let it happen purely because she felt as if she was in love with him, and so far Chat _seemed_ to have loved her back. Now she was not so sure!

She had never been in a relationship before, she didn't know if it was uncommon for boyfriends to casually leave for days on end but if that's the case she didn't know if she was cut out for this whole relationship thing.

But then she remembered the soft feeling of Chat's lips on hers, his piercing eyes, half-lidded and seductive.

 _'Gah! Why does he have to be so damn attractive! C'est tellement frustrant!'_ She mentally cursed.

As much as she wouldn't admit it aloud, she wasn't just attracted to his lean body and handsome face. Her love for him ran much deeper, something about his humorous wit and his charm wiggled their way into her heart. She truly was missing him, and it had only been _a week_!

Sure she missed people like Alya and Lila after a while or so if she was on vacation or something but it had been seven days and she felt like she was feinting without Chat! Gods, what had this boy done to her.

She was interrupted out of her thoughts when the sound of the school bell rang and Marinette realized she had just spent yet another day off in a daze.

Propping her head up from her desk she realized Alya had been on her phone the whole time, furiously typing away for some unknown reason.

"Alya…? Are you ready to go?" Marinette asked a bit hesitantly.

"Just a sec girl, I'm just writing the ending of my MariChat fic!" Alya said with her tongue sticking out.

"Wait…Mari…Chat? Alya?! Are you writing fan fiction about me?!"

"Girl! I can't help it! I know you said I couldn't tell anyone what I saw so this is my way of coping!" Alya huffed as she continued writing, making Marinette sigh.

"Ugh fine… But we better go find Lila before she starts making a fuss."

Marinette and Alya were engrossed in a conversation soon after and they did not notice the longing stares that Adrien was sending their way, well towards Marinette to be specific.

* * *

The three girls made it to the front of Marinette's home in little to no time flat. There was really no conversation on the way, however. Lila looked like she wanted to say something but nothing really came out.

"Alright guys, I'm just gonna head inside, I got a lot of homework to finish and I guess I'll see you later!" Marinette waved, winking at Alya. It was pretty obvious that Marinette wanted to spend another night alone in case Chat decided to show himself.

It took a second for Alya to catch on but she played along flawlessly after.

"Ah sure girl, we'll see you on Monday!" Alya waved, pulling Lila along with her.

"Wait I-" Lila started but was forcefully dragged away by Alya before she could begin.

Marinette let out a mental sigh of relief as she hurried in.

* * *

"Alya! Why do you have to drag me so! I just got my hands manicured and I don't appreciate you messing up my flawless detail!" Lila huffed.

"Sorry Lila, I just think Marinette needs some time to herself is all." Alya explained.

Lila frowned a little, Alya never called her silly nicknames like 'gurl' and it was such a stupid thing to be upset about, at least she thought. But she couldn't help but feel she wasn't really 'involved' in this friendship between Marinette and Alya as much as she would like to be.

"I see… But don't you think it's a bit weird…" Lila began, making Alya turn her head to the side in confusion.

"That Marinette said she had _homework_ when there was absolutely none assigned at all these past few days? I know people in all her classes and they don't have any assignments, so why did she lie?"

Alya bit her lip in distress before coming up with a response.

"Maybe she's doing extra credit or late work or something, you know Marinette. She never lies about anything!" Alya replied as smooth as she could.

"Perhaps." Lila sounded unconvinced but didn't speak any further about the subject.

* * *

"Another night of Chat not showing up, seriously what's his deal!" Marinette huffed to Tikki as she leaned against the railings of her balcony.

"One minute he says he loves me, and then the next he _disappears for a week without saying anything!_ " She bit her cheek in anger and winced slightly.

"Now now Marinette, I'm sure Chat has his reasons and will be back soon." Tikki started, but Marinette wasn't having it.

"Maybe he realized he doesn't love me anymore and goes off with some other girl!" Marinette started to irrationality blurb.

"Marinette you and I both know that's ridiculous, Chat said he loves _you!_ I'm sure he'll be back one of these days." Tikki offered supportively making Marinette sigh.

"Well! Obviously, he's not coming today, so I'm just gonna take a walk, cool my thoughts y'know!"

"That sounds like a good idea, but make sure you be cautious, it's already evening and I don't want any trouble to happen to you on the road!" Tikki chimed.

"Please Tikki, I'm Ladybug I think I can handle myself." Marinette waved her hand non-chalantly, making Tikki sigh with a smile.

"Brr! Maybe this wasn't the best idea, it's so cold!" Marinette shivered.

Tikki who appeared to be shivering as well from inside Marinette's purse shook her head in agreement.

"It's getting to be that time of year again, but at least the snow is beautiful!" Tikki said positively making Marinette smile a bit.

"It sure is…" Marinette sighed as she finally found a bench to sit on and watch the snow fall.

"Marinette? Is that you?" A masculine sounding voice immediately made Tikki jump inside Marinette's purse to hide and Marinette looked up at the sound.

She immediately recognized the man as Luka, whom she probably would have pursued if she didn't waste all her time and energy on that hopeless relationship with Adrien, he _clearly_ had no interest in her.

"Oh Luka, what a surprise to see you out here." Marinette waved gently.

Luka smiled and looked over at the bench she was sitting on, "Mind if I take a seat?"

"Oh, of course, it's not like I own the bench," Marinette said jokingly making Luka let out a bit of a chuckle.

"Heh, you're a funny girl Marinette, and I mean that in the best way possible."

"Oh um… Thanks." Marinette responded awkwardly, as she shifted a bit in her seat.

"So uh… It sure is cold out huh? What were you doing just walking around all by yourself, it's not really safe." Luka said casually.

"Um… What do you mean it's not safe? I just wanted to take a walk is all." Marinette responded a bit defensively.

"I'm just saying that for a girl to be walking around by herself all alone? It's a bit unsafe is all, and you should be careful.

Marinette huffed, "Well I think I can defend myself quite well, thank you very much!" She crossed her arms and turned away.

"Oh really?" Luka said suggestively, making Marinette raise her brow but not turn towards him.

"Yes, really."

Suddenly Luka lunged at Marinette catching her off guard and began to tickle her mercilessly.

"L-Luka stop it! Hahahaha!" Marinette cried out in laughter, being quite sensitive to touch.

Luka continued his assault for a few more seconds before he let Marinette catch her breath, much to his delight she was smiling now, her cheeks red from the cold now as well.

"I swear if you tickle me like that again I'm going to have to-!" Marinette cut herself off, realizing now this was _Luka_ and not Chat Noir she was talking to.

"Going to have to what?" Luka raised his brow suggestively as he leaned in a bit closer.

"Nevermind, just forget I said anything!" Marinette said a bit panicked.

"You're gonna have to tell me or I'll have to tickle you again." Luka's lips pursued back up into a smile.

"Eep!" Marinette squealed as Luka tried to reach for her again, but she ended up rocking back and rolling the bench to the floor, causing both Luka and Marinette to fall in a very… intimate position.

Luka who was on top seemed to be enjoying every second, however. As he stood over Marinette's uncomfortable form he grinned.

"I never really told you before Marinette…I think you're really beautiful." Luka reached out to place his hand on her cheek.

For a minute this whole situation reminded her of her times with Chat Noir and she thought that Luka was Chat for a moment, she really missed him so much already. When she realized that this was Luka however she immediately brushed his hand to the side.

"Well, I should uh… fix the bench." Marinette tried as an excuse to get up and out of this position, but Luka frowned.

"Marinette, why don't you like me?" Luka asked a bit roughly.

"L-luka? I like you why would you think otherwise?" Marinette prayed that he was speaking in a platonical sense.

"I mean… I've made it _pretty_ damn obvious that I liked you these past few years but you always brush me aside for that _damn_ Agreste kid." Luka grit his teeth as he spoke.

"Wha-Luka that's not why-"

"When will you see that he doesn't _care_ about people like us, people who don't have _money_. That's all that rich boy cares about, his _damn_ status. If he wasn't so damn blind he would have seen this amazing, talented and beautiful girl fawning over him."

Marinette widened her eyes in surprise, she had no idea Luka felt that way about this whole ordeal.

"But without even trying he has all the money, wealth and fame, and he can get whoever he wants without giving a _damn."_ Luka continued, making Marinette huff in annoyance at his backtalk.

"Adrien isn't like that Luka! I don't appreciate you stereotyping my friend like that, and besides I don't…" She gulped never having said these words aloud before. "I don't think I like him like that anymore."

"What did you say?" Luka asked bewildered, making Marinette a bit more annoyed.

"I said I don't like him anymore and it's not like I had a chance with him anyways, because what a surprise I'm just _damn useless and clumsy Marinette Dupain-Cheng!"_ Marinette yelled, sitting up forcefully, forcing Luka back.

"Marinette I-"

"It's really none of your business either Luka, so please just leave me alone!" Marinette began to stand up but Luka frantically grabbed her wrist.

"Marinette please wait I didn't mean to make you upset I just…" Luka pleaded but Marinette was in no mood to talk anymore.

"Please, just leave mealone." Marinette said in a sad tone as she pushed Luka's hand off her wrist and began to run away from the scene.

* * *

Marinette arrived back at her room, no emotion really on her face as she sat down on her chaise and sighed.

"Marinette… Are you ok?" Tikki pressed lightly but Marinette just groaned and rolled over.

Tikki sat down next to Marinette on the chaise and also let out a sigh.

"I'm fine Tikki, I just was thinking about earlier is all."

"About what Luka said… about liking you?" Tikki asked as Marinette felt her eyes sadden.

"Well yeah… I mean, I can't believe he felt that way about me y'know? I just feel awful, because I know exactly how that feels." Marinette looked towards the ground and frowned.

Her lip began to quiver, "Tikki, what I'm doing with Chat is insane right?"

Tikki's eyes widened in surprise but she said nothing as Marinette continued.

"First I thought I had a chance all these years with Adrien when I was so damn blind that he obviously does not like me that way…" She bit her lip, "But then I go and think this damn cat actually _loves_ me!" Marinette felt tears prick at her eyes as she choked back a sob, "How stupid can I be, Chat will never come back after he realized I would never live up to his expectations!" She started again irrationally, the anxiety of the situation getting the better of her.

"Marinette! Breath!" Tikki pleaded as Marinette's huffs and pants began stammering out, clutching her head desperately she began to bite her lips as the breaths kept escaping her mouth. Somehow, she was able to get herself to a more calm state after a few painful minutes, with Tikka's reassuring voice she was able to calm herself down but tears started spilling from her eyes as soon as she stopped panting.

Tikki kept patting her head gently until Marinette gently fell asleep, tears still wet on her face.

Tikki stepped back a little and took a deep breath once she realized Marinette was asleep on the chaise.

"Something has to be done about that boy… I didn't want to have to do this but it looks like I'm going to have to have a talk with Plagg."

* * *

 **(A/N): IM BACKKKKK! HOLY MOLLEHH IT TOOK ME SO LONG TOO UPDATE! I seriously could not find the motivation to continue for a good while but now I'm determined to get back into things! Oof, thank you all so much for the support and being so understanding, I'm really grateful. Hopefully next time won't take so long but honestly who knows, I'm going to see this through to the end no doubt though!**


	21. Chapter 21

**_(A/N): HOLY SMOKES IT'S BEEN A WHILE! So sorry about that, I finally got done with my first semester and by gods it's been a whirwind of work, but hey I'm back now. I can't guarantee how fast I'll write the next chapter I've honestly been feeling a bit uninspired as of late but I made a commitment and I'm going to see this through! There is still a few more chapters left before the wrap-up so hang in with me you all. Thanks for sticking with me all this time readers, I know i've have a horrible updating schedule but I'm trying my best!_**

* * *

 _One week earlier..._

"Kid c'mon, it's already been an entire day! Why did you decide to storm off that Marinette girl's place?" Plagg began lecturing as soon as Adrien de-transformed.

The blonde just sighed running his hands through his hair and plopping down on his bed.

"You heard what she said Plagg… She's ashamed of me…" He put his hand over his face and let out another breathy sigh.

"What kind of idiotic thought is that?" Plagg said flying up to Adrien's face, making the boy turn away on his side.

"Don't you think there's a reason why she said she couldn't tell anybody? That girl is trying to protect you!" Plagg started yelling, and much to his surprise it seemed Adrien was actually listening to what he was saying.

"If you just go out there and tell the whole world that you're dating a civilian girl she's going to be an easy target for Hawk Moth or whoever else is out there!" Plagg crossed his arms, as Adrien finally sat up to face him, his face more understanding now that he's thought about it.

"Plagg… you're right actually," He said as he began combing his fingers through his blonde locks, "I can't believe how stupid I was back there, just leaving like that." Adrien sighed.

"I can't believe you have a 4.0 GPA…" Plagg grumbled as he grabbed a stash of cheese while Adrien was distracted.

"I-I have to go back and talk to her, I'm sure she's worried or maybe even mad at me." He gulped at the thought, and began to stand up.

Plagg shook his arms in a frenzy, "No no kid, I can't transform you just yet. Just let me finish this cheese and then-"

But Adrien, in his desperation did not heed Plagg's warning.

"Plagg claws out!"

* * *

Chat bounded from building to building, eager once again to see his Princess, he hoped she would not be too mad at him for leaving her like that. He was sure once he explained himself things would be back to normal. Sure it was a bit upsetting that they had to keep their relationship on a low but at the end of the day it hardly mattered. He was just so craving for love that he wanted to make it public as soon as he could. So that no other guy could claim her and that everyone would know that she was his.

He let out a sigh, he was being selfish. He would rather have to deal with being private and not having everyone know than to not have Marinette at all. She had brought him so much joy, she was something he always looked forward to seeing, she had become a part of him whether she realized it or not. He couldn't believe how stupid he was being, he desperately wanted to apologize to her for just running off like that. Hopefully he could charm his way back in, maybe she would even let him kiss her again, that would be beyond nice.

He smirked at remembering how her lips tasted against his, so soft yet pressed against his with such passion. Gods, he really wanted her now.

Finally he landed at the foot of the bakery, eager to just hop up to the balcony and knock on the door for Marinette. But then he started to feel a bit anxious.

What if she would be angry with him? After all he did leave without much explanation and would likely be a little upset.

He shook his head, he had to deal with whatever she was going to throw at him, he loved her enough to deal with that much at least.

Just as he was about to sling himself up on the roof, quite possibly the worst possible thing could have happened.

"Chat Noir? Is that you?" A female voice, he immediately recognized it as Lila's from school. He grit his teeth in stress as he tried his best to remain calm.

"Uh yep, the one and only." He said trying his best to act natural, not like he was about to climb into a civilians home without them knowing.

Lila gave him a quick scan, and stuck her lip out curiously.

"What brings you to the Dupain-Cheng bakery if I may ask?" She put her hand on her hip, her weight shifting slightly, "I take it it's not a food visit." She said sharply, not waiting for his response.

"I uh… Well y'see…" He desperately tried to come up with some excuse as to why he was about to climb up into Marinette's balcony but was just coming up with fumbles of words.

"So it _is_ you then!" Lila smiled, walking closer to Chat, his eyes only widened in surprise.

"You are the guy Marinette's with now!" Lila clapped her hands together, coming to the conclusion quite quickly.

Chat shook his head fervently, "N-no! You've got it all wrong! I don't even know who this Marinette is? Who is this Marinette you speak off?"

"Oh save it kitty, I've seen you two together quite often," Lila tapped her lip, "That garden you took her too overlooks my house, I couldn't really tell it was you from where I was but I definitely saw Marinette." She paused for a moment and then continued, "I just needed to be sure it really was _you_ and not some random guy in black latex taking my friend around town."

Chat knew at this point it was useless to deny Lila.

"Well… you caught me." Chat said dryly, not really sure how to react. Lila, upon seeing this gave him a reassuring smile.

"Ah don't worry! I won't tell anyone! Marinette's my best friend and I want what's best for her!" She smiled at Chat, "and if she thinks that you can make her happy, I approve!" Lila clasped her hands together once again.

Chat couldn't really believe what he was hearing from Lila, she sounded so genuine and caring for her friend. He couldn't believe this was the same Lila who loathed his guts and would curse him out every chance she got. He had to wonder again why she despised him so as Adrien, and from what he hears she hates Ladybug too. She was a very complicated woman it would seem.

Chat's ring suddenly started beeping, making his eyes widen and ears twitch in alarm. Why was this happening?! Could he have- He forgot to feed Plagg before transforming.

Chat's breathing began at a fast pace, he had to hide and get away from public eye as he was going to detransform and de-transform fast.

"I uh… Yeah it's uh great talking to you Lila but I gotta run!" Chat said quickly as he darted around the bakery where he was likely going to de-transform. But he made a critical error, he called her Lila when Chat Noir clearly didn't know her name.

Lila's eyes narrowed and she decided to test her suspicions. Her lip sneered up cruelly as she tiptoed around the bakery, following the leather-clad superhero. The way he said her name… It was all too familiar. How would Chat Noir, superhero of Paris know who she was, and even if he did the tone of his voice sounded so familiar, she just couldn't put her finger on it quite yet.

* * *

"Agh Plagg! What the heck happened? Why did I forcefully de-transform!" Adrien said in a hushed sort of yell, not even aware of how little distance he'd traveled.

Plagg looked woozy and for a moment almost confused before he furrowed his brows, "You damned idiot, if you had just waited one more second I would have told you that-" Plagg stopped mid-sentence, freezing in absolute terror at what was behind Adrien.

"So… This is the real Chat Noir huh?" Lila said, her eyes almost glowing with hatred and anger at the sight before her.

Adrien had no words, he couldn't believe he was caught, he was far too careless. He didn't know what to say now. He felt his insides turn and he felt nauseous at the realization now.

"So you think you can just play with Marinette's heart in both forms huh? You twisted, disgusting fiend." Lila grit her teeth, stomping towards him angrily.

"Wha-? What are you even talking about?" Adrien said, his voice quiet and shaky, terrified now that his identity had been compromised.

"Don't act dumb!" She basically screamed, "I know your type, and I can't believe I actually…" She held her palm to her face, tears starting to form. Her face of sadness quickly shifted back into anger as she looked at Adrien once again.

"I can't believe you would do such a thing to Marinette of all people… You know she was in love with you from the beginning and you never even knew it." Lila said softly, making Adrien's eyes widen.

"Marinette… L-loved me?" He couldn't believe that Marinette felt that way about him… in both of his forms. If he wasn't in such a predicament he would have loved to have showered her with affection.

"Yes she _loved_ you past tense." Lila said with a hiss, making Adrien's eyes that were glowing now fade into a dull broken state.

"Wha-"

"She _loathes_ you now you know, I thought you knew that already though." Lila lied, judging from the expression of Adrien she seemed to be happy it was working.

"She… she hates me? But why? I've never done anything to her!" Adrien said, his voice breaking as he felt his lip quiver.

"Exactly! You never did _anything_! She gave you so many hints, so many moments that it could have been out on written form and it still wouldn't have gotten through your thick skull!" Lila said, teeth bared.

Adrien could feel a tear prick the side of his eyes, he couldn't believe himself. He felt his breath shorten and his eyes droop. Plagg couldn't say anything, out of fear it may draw more suspicion to the real issue at hand, that he had been found out as Chat Noir.

"Now here's what's going to happen." Lila said, her arms crossing.

"You're going to stay away from Marinette, in both forms. If I hear one time that you even go within 5 feet of her, I'll tell the whole world who Chat Noir really is."

Adrien felt like throwing up, he couldn't believe his ears. He had to give up Marinette… His source of happiness for the greater good? It couldn't be fair, it couldn't be true. Curse his damned bad luck, he wanted to scream, to shout, to cry. But he had to remain strong, it was the only option.

Lila watched him leave, her face still ridden with anger.

She did feel a little spark of empathy in her heart but she pushed it aside. After how Adrien humiliated her, made a fool of her and played with her affections he got what he deserved!

...So why didn't she feel happy?


	22. Another Update

Hey everyone! I'm so sorry that I've once again taken like months of hiatus without much warning. If I'm being honest I'm having a lot of trouble motivating myself to continue this story. I'm going to finish this one way or another but it's getting difficult to know exactly where I'm going exactly with this story. The issue is that I just kind of randomly started this story with no real idea about the plot, literally making it up as I go. Which lead me to some large roadblocks and rushed writing. I feel as a writer I've improved a lot over these past years and I almost feel like I'm holding myself back with how shoddy my writing was in the beginning.

I just wanted to let you all know what was going on in my head basically. I still want to finish this story it's just become difficult for me to motivate myself in this! I really wrote myself in a corner not really knowing where I was going unfortunately. I think this is a good learning process because now I know for the future to have an actual plan of the story and have buffer chapters so I don't have to leave you readers for months on end without anything.

So rest assured, I'm going to make myself write the rest of this story one way or another! Thank you all so much for your patience as I sort myself out.


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